

saw ' 

i’ N ' ✓ ' y ^ >\wp» v 

* ^ ^ N , <^ * * * » s * A 

-C? c 0 N R * % ✓ av v 

* v -v rj^» ✓ vr^ a\ 

3 0 X ; a * 

~f. r * x0 o. 




n, ^ o ' ' M\w^r > 

^ » •/ , i* s <.° 

o *° >> ^ 

a*- <* ■'., ^> 


x 0 O. *. 'r/_J-:; '■. * ' i ... 

* VHv V v^f > V V* ^ c. , 

C* ✓ * o r rU l 

s ** r % * 5 * ‘® ’ y »o ^ * 8 

JT'‘ ^ 'f* . t* i<? # 

i 

' 


••'V Ai*. % ,/ ... c « 

> : : n> 0 < • v.^'. '++ $ : 

L -usu x ' *Q 


* <\* 
> ■/<#? .v 



-7 

’bo’ 

*1 -#* . >* r y. v 

O # 

✓-«>, c- \> X ' * » , > n v c- 

*, *V *\ %$, ' ^ ^ ' * 

' o » X * aC 



‘ c 


% V* 


(V 



•* « 

, v“ 

% 

,-v 



4.V- 1 



U * 0 N 0 

V 




*4 oV 

* 

-Or c 0 N c * '•%, 
r. «* t ^ 




o> ^ 

> Or <^y/]V£P v 

* a c^ ^ ‘ r ' - ^ O 0 

* 'CV ’ M# x » *.,'>*" ' ° 0 f V * • * 
© ' %> .<■$’ .♦Wa V . <■• .fe»,; 



, N G 


V ' « 


* , 

C- y + a* ^ *_ ^UAf~ C- A 

^/>*0K<>' 5 V* \ * fi f s ** 

// C‘ vV * ' * 0 / ^ v 0' 

. y- 5! * * ~. <taS 

\^>j & A. r ' <>>. VA <* 






4 \ </> 

a\* </>* ° V \y * 

< A '?,. A A 

•1« ' **' .V .' 1 * < o, ,0 . c 

v* < .' jav r%>.''^ 0 “ 

< mX/y ^ -P .-. 

o o N 


^ v* 


j. 0 ®* 

\ ^ .v ’ A‘| 

V.V 

<P ^ v a> 




* ^V' 

\> * * * °/ 



l ft 


'W 

A ^ ^ 

C#* ^ 


■ V* vx'' 

</> \ V 


XT* ^ 

\L c>v ^ ^ 

Vfc ^ 


,0o. 

\ ¥<> 


' ^ 
*f* 


.v * 


c? 

a ^ 1 ^ik ° \ r 

‘/'HW/v* ^ ^ ^ '•••“ 4 A' 

-V . -' N <> A O, y 6 * y * *6 

A X *v»»* ,o> c< 

^ * ° . Cl 

*oo* 

4 ^ 











77 


50 Cents 


-3 

Novell's International Series 


A Scarlet Sin 

A NOVEL 


BY 

FLORENCE MARRYATT 

AUTHOR OF “THE MASTER PASSION,” “A LUCKY DISAPPOINTMENT,” ETC. 


NEW YORK 


JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY 

150 Worth Street, corner Mission Place 


Every work in this series is published by arrangement with the author 


Issued Semi-Weekly. Annual Subscription, $30.00. March 13, 1890, 


BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH THE AUTHORS 



Na bo. 


bo era 

!1ES 


LO YELL'S 

International Series 

OF. 

MODERN NOVELS. 


THE NEW WORKS PUBLISHED IN THIS EXCELLENT 
SERIES, SEMI-WEEKLY, ARE ALWAYS THE FIRST 
ISSUED IN THIS COUNTRY. 

EVERY ISSUE IS PRINTED FROM NEW, CLEAR 
ELECTROTYPE PLATES, PRINTED ON FINE PAPER 
AND BOUND IN ATTRACTIVE PAPER COVERS OF 
ORIGINAL DESIGN. 


* This Series comprises the latest and best Foreign 
Novels, which are issued under arrangement with the 
authors. 

Great care is exercised in selecting the best works of 
the best authors, and, so far as possible, the works are 
issued simultaneously with English publication. 

Advance sheets are obtained, wherever it is possible, 
that Americcn readers may feel that they are getting the 
best literary work at the earliest possible date. 


No. Cts. 

1. Miss Eyon op Eyon Court. By Katharine S. Macquoid 30 

2. Hartas Marturin. By H. F. Lester 50 

3. Tales op To-Day. By Geo. R. Sims 30 

4. English Life Seen Through Yankee Eyes. By T. C. Crawford 50 

5. Penny Lancaster, Farmer. By Mrs. Bellamy 50 

6. Under False Pretences. By Adeline Sergeant 50 

7. In Exchange for a Soul. By Mary Linskill 30 

8. Guilderoy. By Ouida 30 

9. St. Cuthbert’s Tower. By Florence Warden 30 

10. Elizabeth Morley. By K. S. Macquoid 30 

11. Divorce; or Faithful and Unfaithful. By Margaret Lee 50 

12. Long Odds. By Hawley Smart 30 

13. On Circumstantial Evidence. By Florence Marryat 30 

14. Miss Kate ; or Confessions of a Caretaker. By Rita 30 

15. A Vagabond Lover. By Rita 20 

16. The Search for Basil Lyndhurst. By Rosa Nouchette Carey 30 

17. The Wing of Azrael. By Mona Caird 20 

18. The Fog Princes. By F. Warden 30 

19. John Herring. By S. Baring Gould 50 

20. The Fatal Phryne. By F. C. Phillips and C. J. Wills 30 

21. Harvest. By John Strange Winter 20 

22. Mehalah. By S. Baring- Gould 50 

23. A Troublesome Girl. By The Duchess 30 

24. Derrick Vaughan, Novelist. By Edna Lyall 30 

25. Sophy Carmine. By John Strange Winter 30 

26. The Luck of the House. By Adeline Sergeant 30 

27. The Pennycomequicks. By S. Baring-Goula 50 

28. Jezebel’s Friends. By Dora Russell 30 

29. Comedy of a Country House. By Julian Sturgis 30 

30. The Piccadilly Puzzle. By Fergus Hume 30 

31. That Other Woman. By Annie Thomas 30 

32. The Curse of Carne’s Hold. By G. A. Henty 30 

33. Uncle Piper of Piper’s Hill. By Tasma 30 

34. A Life Sentence. By Adeline Sergeant 30 

35. Kit Wyndham. By Frank Barrett .1 30 

36. The Tree of Knowledge. By G. M. Robins 30 


CONTINUED ON THIRD PAGE OF COVER. 


A SCARLET SIN 



















■ 




































♦ 

































* 















































































A SCARLET SIN 


A NOVEL 



BY 


FLORENCE^;MARRYATT 

/ 

AUTHOR OF “THE MASTER PASSION,” “A LUCKY DISAPPOINTMENT,’’ 




NEW YORK 

JOHN W. LOVELL COMPANY 

150 WORTH ST., COR. MISSION PLACE 



Copyright, i88q, 

By John W. Lovf.ll, 


A SCARLET SIN 


CHAPTER I. 

THE MISTRESS OF GLEBE ROYAL. 

Glebe Royal never looked more beautiful than it 
did in autumn, when the varied hues of dying 
nature were on its glorious old trees, turning their 
mantling leaves from every shade of green to yellow 
and crimson and copper brown ; when the carpet of 
bracken that lay under them was rust color, and 
crackled as the deer sprang over it ; and when the 
smooth-shaven lawn in front of the house was studded 
with dahlias, like living gems — for Glebe Royal had 
always been celebrated for its dahlias, and Sir Alan 
Chichester took a pride in keeping up everything as 
it had ever been. But on the autumn afternoon 
that sees this story open, the day’s glory had de- 
parted, and left a misty veil like a pale grey cloud 
over the landscape. It had been raining heavily, and 
though the shower had abated, the raindrops still 
hung upon the “invisible” fence that divided the 
gardens from the park, and dripped silently from the 
overhanging eaves. The deer were huddled together 
in their sheds, the dahlias hung their heavy laden 
blossoms downwards, and the adjacent stables and 


4 


A SCARLET SIN. 


kennels seemed strangely quiet, for it was a hunting 
day, and Sir Alan Chichester, M.P. for the county, 
had been away since nine o’clock in the morning, 
with all his retinue. Not a sound was to be heard, 
except the crunching of the gravel drive under the 
clumsily shod feet and heavy tread of the baronet’s 
sister, Miss Chichester, as she tramped up and down 
like a soldier on duty. Miss Chichester was a woman 
about fifty, full ten years older than her brother, Sir 
Alan, and of what most people mistook for a hard 
and uncompromising nature. Glebe Royal had been 
her home (as it had been that of her brother) all her 
life long, and her visits to other places had been few 
and far between. Her circle of acquaintance was 
therefore necessarily small, and her mind had had no 
opportunities of development. Her ideas were nar- 
row and bigoted ; she wished to do right, but she 
had a most unpleasant way of doing it. Once put a 
notion in her head and it was impossible to drive it 
out again. Her settled opinion was, that what was 
right for Tom must be right for Harry, and that if a 
thing was advisable on Monday, it was advisable on 
Tuesday. It was in the fulfilment of this theory, 
that she was marching up and down the drive of 
Glebe Royal after a soaking shower at five o’clock in 
the afternoon. The damp ground made her feet cold 
and her frame shiver. She was swallowing the rising 
mists in an unlimited quantity, but she knew it was 
healthy exercise to walk for an hour every day, so 
she would have done it had the heavens rained fire. 
Not only that, but she would have left no stone 
unturned to make her friends do the same, for herein 


A SCARLET SIN, \ 


5 


lay the disagreeable part of Anna Chichester’s 
character, she could not be contented with carrying 
out her own ideas of right. She wanted to force 
everybody else to think and do exactly the same as 
she did. The rapidly approaching shades of evening, 
which threatened to obscure the outer landscape, had 
made the inside of the house look still more gloomy. 
The servants had lighted the lamps in the hall and 
passages, but Lady Chichester had refused to let 
them illuminate the drawing-room in which she sat, 
and the vast apartment was full of fitful shadows. 
The huge log of wood that lay smouldering on the 
hearth, and threw up a flickering flame every nowand 
then, made the subjects of the paintings that hung on 
the walls, and the statuary that stood in the corners 
look almost ghostly. But Lady Chichester had no 
fear of ghosts, unless they were the ghosts of the 
past, and was thinking only of herself and her ail- 
ments, as she cowered on a sofa close to the fire, and 
wondered what could be the matter with her that she 
felt so ill. She was a slight, frail-looking woman of 
about forty, round whose attenuated figure a white 
woolen shawl was wrapt so closely that hardly any- 
thing was to be seen of her but her face. She had 
been very pretty in her girlish days — one of those 
fairy-like, ethereal creatures that strong, vigorous 
men delight in, for their very contrast to themselves 
— but all the beauty was gone now, and only the 
fragility remained. Her hair had become scanty and 
was thickly streaked with grey ; her large blue eyes 
gazed at you with a shrinking, scared expression that 
betrayed she had no confidence in herself or in her 


6 


A SCARLET SIN. 


own opinions — if she possessed any. As she sat 
there in the gathering gloom, she did not appear to 
make any effort to employ or amuse herself. A ball 
of wool and some knitting pins, with the first volume 
of a novel, certainly lay on a small table beside her, 
but she did not seem to have made any progress 
with either. Lady Chichester was only wondering 
vaguely if she should soon feel better again, or if she 
were going to die, and if you had offered her the 
choice of the two, she would probably have chosen 
the latter. For she loved her husband with a meek, 
mute adoration, felt by few wives in the present day, 
and she knew she was a burden and an annoyance to 
him, rather than a pleasure, and that he would be 
better off if she were gone. She was so absorbed in 
her own thoughts, that she never heard the hall-door 
bell ring, and was quite startled when the footman 
threw open the door and announced “Dr. Jolliffe.” 

Dr. Jolliffe could not have been better suited with 
a name, for it sounded so much like “jolly,” and he 
was one of the jolliest people possible. He never 
entered a house without brightening it up. His 
cheery voice brought hope and confidence in its 
train, and desponding hearts, looking doubtfully into 
the future, took courage from its tones to battle suc- 
cessfully with the disease that threatened to overcome 
their physical powers. 

“ Why ! how is this ? ” he exclaimed, as he passed 
the threshold,' “ all in the dark ? How am I to judge 
of my patients looks if I can’t see her ? With your 
leave, Lady Chichester, I must request John to light 
up ! I have very sharp eyes, but not sharp enough 
for this/’ 


A SCARLET SIN, 


7 


“ It is so pleasant to sit in the twilight when one is 
alone,” said Lady Chichester in a plaintive voice, as 
the gas flared up and revealed her features. 

“ Pleasant perhaps, but not prudent,” replied Dr. 
Jolliffe, as he felt her pulse. “Have you never heard 
that it is not good for man to be alone, nor woman 
either? Where is Miss Chichester?” 

‘I don’t know! I have not seen her since 
luncheon.” 

“And Sir Alan?” 

“O! he is out hunting ! Did you not hear there 
was a meet to-day ? ” 

“ No! Why didn’t you call for me in the carriage 
and take me to it ? I should have enjoyed the sight. 
Did you go ? ” 

“I? O ! doctor,” replied Lady Chichester, depre- 
catingly. 

“ Well, ana why not ? It was a lovely morning, 
though it has ended in rain. It would have done 
you good. The fact is, you shut yourself too much 
up in the house, Lady Chichester! I shall have to 
lay my orders on Sir Alan to see that you drive out 
every day. We shall have you ill, if this goes on.” 

“ O ! doctor, I am ill,” returned Lady Chichester, 
shivering and drawing her woolen shawl still closer. 
“ Sometimes I think I shall never be any better, that 
I am going to die.” 

The doctor laughed long and heartily. 

“ Going to die ! So you are ! You are quite right, 
my dear lady, and so am I, and Sir Alan and every- 
one dies in due course of time. But we won’t order 
our coffins just yet.” 


8 


A SCARLET SLV. 


“ But wliat use am I ? ” she said earnestly. “ My 
good, true Alan is as kind to me as he can be, but I 
am only a drag upon his daily life. We can share 
nothing in common now, and of late I have felt much 
worse than usual.” 

‘‘Tell me all your symptoms, never mind how 
trifling, and I will give you a true opinion on them,” 
he answered her. He sat, silent and attentive, whilst 
his patient gave various details concerning herself, 
but his eye twinkled occasionally as he listened, and 
there was just the suspicion of a smile about his 
mouth. 

“ Now, my dear lady,” he said as she concluded, 
“ you’re not ill at all, and I’m going to make you as 
right as a trivet.” 

“O! doctor.” 

“ It’s gospel truth, and the first thing I prescribe 
is exercise. You must take gentle exercise daily, 
either by driving or walking.” 

“ But I cannot walk, I am too weak.” 

“Then you must go in your carriage until you 
regain the use of your legs. And you must have 
more society ! It’s enough to make anybody feel ill 
to sit by herself all day. What is Miss Chichester 
about to leave you alone like this? Why isn’t she 
here to amuse and divert you ? ” 

“Anna has always had her own apartments at 
Glebe Royal, and occupied them as she saw fit. 
Besides, I would rather be by myself, Dr. Jolliffe. 
My sister-in-law and I have never been very close 
friends, nor thought alike on the same subjects, and 
anything approaching a discussion is sure to upset 
me. I am better alone,” 


A SCARLET S/JV. 


9 


“You are no such thing, my lady, and I must see 
Sir Alan on the subject. You need cheerful society, 
and you must have it.” 

“ But I dislike evening and dinner parties exceed- 
ingly. It is quite a trial to me to preside at one. I 
dread that Sir Alan should see how incapable I am 
of amusing his guests, and lately he has been good 
enough to excuse me from appearing at table, and let 
his sister do the honors instead.” 

“A great mistake on Sir Alan’s part,” replied Dr. 
Jolliffe impatiently, “but I was not alluding to 
parties at all. What you require is a cheerful com- 
panion to remain with you all day, and to share your 
walks or drives. Now, what would you say to 
having some nice, bright, warm-hearted girl to run 
after you wherever you went, to read aloud to you, 
or play and sing perhaps, and make herself generally 
useful.” 

Lady Chichester’s pale cheeks actually flushed. 

“I should like it very much, I think, doctor, but I 
know of no young people. I have no nieces, or 
cousins with whom I am intimate, or — or — ” with a 
deep sigh, “ children.” 

“ I know that, but everything can be got in this 
world with money, and there are plenty of young 
ladies who would only be too thankful to come to 
a home like this ! I wish / was a young lady, Lady 
Chichester, / would jump at the offer! Glebe Royal 
is a little paradise.” 

“That is just what I used to say when I first came 
to it,” replied Lady Chichester with another sigh, 
“ and to think it must pass away to strangers !. No 


IO 


A SCARLET SIN. 


wonder it makes Sir Alan sad to speak of it ! Some- 
times he says he’ll chuck the whole thing up and go 
abroad to end his days.” 

Dr. Jolliffe laughed again in his hearty reassuring 
way. 

“ Nonsense ! Nonsense ! Sir Alan is only making 
fun of you. He knows a trick worth two of that ! 
And what may your ladyship’s book be?” touching 
the volume on the table — “ anything new from 
Mudie ? ” 

“Yes! Mr. Rider Haggards ‘She/ A startling 
story, doctor, and very improbable. But the print 
is rather small and my eyes ache, else I was getting 
very much interested in it. Fancy! a woman living 
for a thousand years ! Could such a thing ever have 
really happened ? ” 

“ I’ll go far towards making you live fora thousand 
years if you’ll follow my advice,” said the doctor. 

She actually laughed. Such a thin quavery little 
ghost of a laugh as it was, and yet so unused to make 
itself heard that it was almost immediately succeeded 
by tears. 

“ If you could make me just a little like my former 
self, a little more like what I was when Alan married 
me,” she filtered, “ I should be so happy.” 

“So I id,” he rejoined, “if you’ll only be good. 
Now, will you promise me to go out driving to^ 
morrow morning, wet or dry?” 

“ Wet or dry ? ” 

“Certainly. In the open carriage if it should be 
dry (which I think it will), and in a close one, if it 
proves rainy. Drive to Gambletown and back, and 


A SCARLET S/M 


it 


bring me a new pair of dogskin gloves from Munster's 
to prove you’ve been there. Is it a bargain ? ” 

“Yes, doctor, if you really consider it necessary.” 

“ It is more than necessary. It is imperative . I 
want to bring the roses back to your cheeks, Lady 
Chichester, and the gloss to your hair. You are not 
doing yourself justice at all. You will look ten years 
younger when you have been for a week in the open 
air.” 

“ I will go, indeed I will go,” she replied quite 
eagerly; “ but it is almost as lonely driving by oneself, 
as sitting here by oneself.” 

“ Take ‘ She ’ with you then, and fancy you are sit- 
ting on the sofa at home. Before long I hope we 
shall have secured someone who will talk to you and 
amuse you whether you are out or in. I ought to 
have thought of it long ago.” 

He rose to take his leave, holding her pulse again 
for a few seconds between his fingers before he did so. 
The touch seemed to inspire him with some hope. 

“ You are not so ill as you imagine, Lady Chiches- 
ter, by a very long way, indeed ; I shall not be sur- 
prised if a few months sees you entirely restored to 
health. Take heart and resolve to be well. Then, 
you will be well! Good-bye.” 

He left his patient still weak, trembling and scared 
looking, but he left hope behind him, and a more 
contented look settled down upon her countenance 
as she sank back upon the sofa, and resumed her 
perusal of “ She.” 

Meanwhile Dr. Jolliffe having assumed his top- 
coat and an enormous woolen comforter (which he 


A SCARLET Sm, 


wound about half a dozen times round his throat) in 
the hall, took his umbrella and turned out into the 
open air, when he ran straight up against Miss 
Chichester, who had walked for exactly sixty minutes 
by the stable clock. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


13 


CHAPTER II. 

HOME FROM HUNTING. 

“ HULLO, Doctor Jolliffe ! ” exclaimed the lady in her 
discourteous manner. “What on earth are you here 
for ? ” (For amongst Miss Chichester’s pet aversions 
she classed the entire medical fraternity, whom she 
commonly designated as a set of cheats and fools.) 

“ That’s not a very polite way in which to welcome 
a visitor to Glebe Royal, Miss Chichester,” replied 
the doctor good-humoredly. “ Suppose I came 
especially to make a call upon yourself! ” 

“ O ! you know me better than that ! You know I 
would rather die a natural death at any time than be 
forced out of the world by your filthy pills and 
potions. You can keep them to kill yourself with. 
You’ll never get me to swallow them.” 

Her rudeness, unaccompanied by the slightest 
pleasantry, had no effect upon the doctor, who only 
laughed at it in his usual hearty manner. 

*• I am quite aware of it, Miss Chichester, and I 
never intend to ask you ; moreover, I am Christian 
enough to be able to add, that I hope you’ll never 
feel the want of them. No ! I didn’t come to see 
you. My visit was to Lady Chichester ! I thought 
she looked ill in church yesterday, and that I might 
venture to offer her a little advice.” 

“Alice ill! Fudge! She’s lazy! That’s what 
you mean.” 


14 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Indeed I do not, and if you will walk back with 
me to the drive gates, I should like to speak to you 
about her.” 

“All right,” replied Miss Chichester, wheeling 
round. “ If Alice would only come out and walk down 
the drive with you, herself, she wouldn’t need either 
your advice or any of your dirty messes.” 

“ I agree with you there, but that would argue she 
had as fine a constitution as yourself ; and unfor- 
tunately she has not. She is very feeble and ener- 
vated ; in fact there is no doubt she is ill.” 

“ What’s the matter with her ? ” demanded his 
companion curtly. 

“ That I am not quite prepared to say.” 

“You doctors never are prepared to say anything. 
You always have to go home and grub in your books 
before you can form an opinion. And then you’re 
generally wrong.” 

“ I am aware that you have not a very high 
opinion of the medical profession, Miss Chichester ; 
still, I have pretty well made up my mind regarding 
her ladyship’s symptoms, but I decline to disclose 
my surmise at present. What I wish to consult you 
about, is the treatment necessary to her case. She 
must not be allowed to mope.” 

“ Mope ! Who makes her mope ? ” 

“ I call it 1 moping' to sit alone for the greater 
part of the day, like Lady Chichester, unemployed 
and brooding (as she evidently docs) on melancholy 
subjects. I want more life and sunshine for her.” 

“ But, bless you, man,” cried Miss Chichester, stop- 
ping short on the gravel drive, and arresting his 


A SCARLET SIN. 


*5 

attention with a violent dig from her umbrella, 
“ why doesn’t she take them, then ? She’s alive, and 
she’s got legs ! But she won’t stir from the sofa ! She 
won’t even go out in the carriage, and as for a walk 
such as I have just been taking, why she’d die 
straight off at the thought of it. She’s a fool, that’s 
what she is, and always has been,” concluded Miss 
Chichester resuming her walk. 

<f You’re too hard upon her, indeed you are! You 
cannot judge of her capabilities by your own. Lady 
Chichester is naturally of a very delicate constitution, 
and has increased her physical weakness by giving 
in to it. She wants rousing and encouraging, and 
more cheerful society.” 

“ Cheerful society ! Isn’t Sir Alan cheerful ? One 
of the happiest dispositions possible, and active and 
vigorous as can be ! All the greater misfortune for 
him to be tied to such a useless creature as Alice.” 

“Your brother is everything you say, Miss Chi- 
chester, but then he possesses an unusual amount of 
strength and vitality, and his habits have become a 
second nature. But he is very seldom with Lady 
Chichester. She does not see much of him.” 

“ How can she when she scarcely ever leaves the 
house ? ” 

“And has almost arrived at the pitch when she is 
incapable of leaving it. Well! if she can’t go out, 
she must have companionship indoors. I insist upon 
it ; and shall take the earliest opportunity to tell Sir 
Alan so.” 

Dr. Jolliffe spoke so unusually gravely and de- 
cidedly (for him) that Miss Chichester became a little 
alarmed. 


i6 


A SCARLET SILL. 


“ Is Alice really ill ? ” she asked. 

“ She will be if my orders are not attended to.” 

“ But I am a great deal with her! I have lived at 
Glebe Royal ever since my brother’s marriage twenty 
years ago. I always meet my sister-in-law at meals.” 

“ That is not sufficient, and excuse me for saying I 
want a younger and more congenial companion for 
Lady Chichester than yourself, someone who will be 
always with her, to sing or play and suggest means 
of amusement, who will let her have her own way, in 
fact, and not argue with or contradict her.” 

Miss Chichester tossed her head. 

“ And pray where will you find this rara avis ? 
They don’t grow in Glebe Royal.” 

“ We must advertise for one.” 

“You mean to engage a hired companion for Lady 
Chichester. I won’t allow it.” 

“Then I must speak to Sir Alan myself on the 
subject. I thought you might have paved the way 
for me, but it is no matter. I shall call in again 
shortly. Good-evening.” 

And, without offering to shake hands with her, Dr. 
Jolliffe passed through the drive gates and left Miss 
Chichester alone. It was very dark and very damp 
as she stood there for a few minutes looking after his 
retreating figure, and almost wishing she had not 
spoken so hastily. But the proposal had annoyed 
her. They were very conservative at Glebe Royal, 
and the idea of a stranger being admitted to the 
family circle, to hear all their secrets and be a con- 
stant spy upon their actions, was very distasteful to 
her. Added to which her pride was hurt at the idea 


A SCARLET S/JV. 


*7 

that her society was not considered sufficient for her 
sister-in-law. She had lived under the same roof 
as Alice ever since Sir Alan had brought her home 
to Glebe Royal, a blushing, shy girl of twenty, 
had nursed her in her rough unsympathetic way 
through her illnesses, and been regarded in every 
respect as an elder sister. And now this doctor 
(who was as great a fool as the rest of his pro- 
fession) threatened to depose her, and set up a 
stranger in her place. She waited at the drive gates 
for fully twenty minutes watching for the return of 
her brother and his friend, Captain Henry Fauntle- 
roy, from hunting, and when they arrived, muddy and 
splashed, she placed hergauntleted hand on Sir Alan’s 
saddlebow, and commenced to march up the drive 
with him in that position. 

“Take care, Anna,” said her brother, “‘the 
Squire’ and I are dreadfully dirty. We came a 
cropper over the last brook in Tangle field. He will 
soil your dress if you walk so close to him.” 

“Rubbish! What do I care for a little mud ? I’m 
not made of sugar, like Alice. By the way, Dr. 
Jolliffe has just been talking to me about her. He 
thinks she’s ill.” 

If the evening shadows had not already commenced 
to fall, Miss Chichester would have seen the change 
that passed suddenly upon her brother’s face. He 
and his wife had drifted very far asunder in the last 
few years, but she had been the one love of his life, 
and he would never quite forget it. 

“III!” he reiterated quickly, “what’s the matter? 
Surely nothing serious ! ” 


1 8 A SCARLET SIN. 

Miss Chichester gave a kind of snort of contempt. 

“I only said that Jolliffe thinks she’s ill, and you 
must know what fools these doctors are. For my 
own part I don’t believe a word of it ! Alice is a 
chilly mortal and somewhat lazy, and she won’t go 
out this weather. If she did, she’d be all the better 
for it. But Jolliffe declares she requires amusement, 
and we must get a companion for her.” 

“ A companion ! ” repeated Sir Alan knitting his 
brows, “ a companion, when she has me ! ” 

“And me too! That’s just what I said, but he 
was obstinate, and declared he should speak to you 
himself on the subject.” 

“ I shall send down the groom to ask him to come 
up again to-night,” said her brother as he dismounted 
at the hall door. “ I shan’t rest till I’ve heard the 
truth of it. Alice ill ! Why ! I have never heard 
her make the slightest complaint ! ” 

He turned abruptly from his sister and his friend 
as he spoke, and walked straight into the drawing- 
room, where his wife was lying on the couch before 
the fire, with her book in her hand. But she had 
heard his footstep, and her large eyes were turned 
towards the door, expectantly. As she caught sight 
of him, and saw that he had not stayed to change 
his dress, before seeking her presence, her pale face 
lighted up with pleasure which increased to the verge 
of making her tremble, as he came up to her side and 
kissed her. He was a man to be proud of. His two 
and forty years had but perfected his muscular figure 
until assimilated with his height. He had a small 
head, covered with close-cropped curling hair, brown 


A SCARLET SIN. 


*9 


eyes, a well-formed nose, and a full-lipped mouth 
shaded by a heavy moustache. His pink coat and 
top-boots and breeches suited him admirably, and 
he appeared to be (as indeed he was) the essence of 
manly strength and vitality. He looked as if he 
could have taken the fragile woman on the sofa and 
crushed her between his finger and thumb, and some 
feeling of this sort, some sense of the vast gulf that 
yawned between them with the passing years, had 
done more to estrange them than anything else. 

How could a man who reveled in hunting, shoot- 
ing, fishing and all other manly sports, to whom, 
indeed, they were essentially necessary as part of his 
existence, derive much enjoyment from the society of 
a wife too feeble to accompany him anywhere ? And 
she had never given him any children. That was the 
great secret disappointment of Sir Alan Chichester’s 
life. How often, when she had been the one great 
passion of his boyhood, his promised bride, as yet 
unclaimed, had he not dreamed with the confidence 
of two and twenty years of the sons and daughters 
she would bring him, and of whom he should be so 
proud, because they belonged to his pretty, fairy-like 
Alice, with her wild-rose complexion and her dainty 
ways! And then came marriage, but without the 
realization of that boyish dream! The wild-rose 
bloom on Alice’s cheek had faded into pallor, and 
the dainty ways had degenerated into lassitude, for 
Lady Chichester was also a disappointed and un- 
happy woman. She recognized that, though from 
no fault of her own, she was a failure, and that her 
husband could never look at her without remember- 
ing that his vast estates and riches and title must 


20 


A SCARLET SIN. 


pass at his death to strangers, because she had borne 
no son to inherit them. Miss Chichester too — with 
the pride of a member of an old county family — felt 
the disappointment almost as keenly as themselves, 
and many a bitter hint or allusion from her lips had 
made Lady Chichester’s lot more hard to bear. But 
through it all, the wife had adored her husband, 
perhaps all the more so because she felt as if she had 
innocently wronged him, and he — well ! he loved 
her still (or thought he did) that is to say; waves of 
tenderness for her would sweep over him occasionally, 
when he remembered what she had been, but when 
he had remained for a few minutes in her society he 
generally contrived to escape from it to that of his 
male companions, so opposite had they grown in all 
their tastes, opinions and pursuits. Miss Chichester’s 
intelligence, however, had awakened one of those 
sudden ebullitions of feeling to which Sir Alan was 
subject, and as he embraced his wife he asked her 
quite affectionately, 

“Well, little woman, and what’s the matter with 
you ? 

“ Matter ! dear Alan ! Nothing at all that I know 
of. Only I feel very tired sometimes, and good for 
nothing. Dr. Jollifife has been here.” 

“ So Anna tells me ! What did he say ? ” 

“ He said he would make me quite well if I would 
obey his orders.” 

“Then you must obey them. By Jove! I wish 
you could come out hunting with me ! That would 
set up. You should have tried it twenty years ago, 
Alice, when I wanted to teach you.” 

“ Ah 1 Alan l I was always too silly and timid to 


A SC A/? LET S/AT. 


21 


make a good horsewoman ! All your instructions 
were so much time thrown away.” 

“You would have been a different woman if you 
had followed my advice. It would have put new 
life into you. You should have seen the run we had 
to-day. Straight as the crow flies, from Brierly 
Downs to Tanglewood, and without a check. ‘ The 
Squire * and I came to grief over the last brook. 
The bank was so soft from the rain, he couldn’t get a 
grip of it, so we both flopped in.” 

“ Not in the water,” exclaimed Lady Chichester in 
a voice of terror. 

“ Of course in the water ! head over ears ! How 
could we ‘flop’ on dry land? Hullo! what’s the 
matter with you ? ” 

For even that excitement had been too much for 
Lady Chichester’s enfeebled frame, and she had sunk 
back upon her sofa cushions in a faint. Sir Alan 
rang the bell furiously. The sight of extreme weak- 
ness did not soften, it rather hardened him. He 
believed so fully in the arrogance of his own strength 
that it was quite avoidable. He ordered the servant 
who answered the bell to send Lady Chichester's 
maid to her assistance at once, and as soon as Jane 
Wood appeared, he resigned his wife into her charge* 

“ I can’t imagine what’s the matter with your 
mistress, Jane! She’s always fainting now-a-days!” 
he said in a tone of annoyance. “You mustn’t 
encourage it. It’s the worst thing possible for her 
to give way.” 

“ I encourage it, Sir Alan ! ” exclaimed the maid, 
“you’re quite mistaken! I’d laydown my life for 
her ladyship ! But it’s my belief that she’s very ill, 
poor dear! very ill indeed.” 


A SCARLET SM 


CHAPTER III. 

MASCULINE CONFIDENCES. 

Although Sir Alan did not entirely believe the old 
servant’s statement, yet, combined with his sister’s 
information, it sufficed to make him both thoughtful 
and silent at the dinner table, at which Lady Chi- 
chester was unable to appear. Captain Fauntleroy 
was the only guest staying at Glebe Royal at the 
time — indeed he was so constant a visitor there, that 
he was almost regarded as one of the family. Al- 
though some seven years the junior of his host, they 
had been students at school and college together, and 
these youthful friendships are often the strongest of 
all. Anyway, it had proved so in their case. Henry 
Fauntleroy had neither the good looks nor the good 
fortune of his friend, but their difference in worldly 
position had never been an obstacle to the course of 
their affection, and whenever he could obtain a few 
days’ leave, he ran down to Hampshire to spend them 
at Glebe Royal. He had been intimate with Lady 
Chichester therefore ever since her marriage, when he 
had been a stripling, newly emerged from his Eton 
jackets, and allowed to take all sorts of liberties with 
the bride, just because he was so young. He had 
called her “ Alice ” in those days, with the full appro- 
bation of the bridegroom, and he had called her 
“ Alice ” ever since. As soon as the servants had 
withdrawn their presence, and Miss Chichester had 


A SCARLET SIN . 


23 


stalked out of the room, saying in a very hoarse voice 
that she would go and inquire after her sister-in-law, 
Captain Fauntleroy drew his chair closer to that of his 
friend and asked the reason of his unusual mood. 

“ What’s the matter, old chum ? ” he said affection- 
ately. “ Anything happened to vex you ?” 

“ It’s only this business about my wife,” replied 
Sir Alan, lighting his pipe (for they were Bohemian 
enough to smoke in the dining-room at Glebe Royal), 
“ she fainted again just before dinner.” 

“ But that’s nothing new, is it ? She’s always 
fainting or something.” 

“ Y ou’re right, Hal ! That’s where the shoe pinches ! 
I’ve been married twenty years, and I might just as 
well be a bachelor for any good Alice is to me.” 

“ That’s not her fault, however.” 

“ I didn’t say it was her fault,” returned the baro- 
net, with the nearest approach to ill-humor his happy 
disposition could command, “but it makes it none 
the less hard to bear. I’ve come to the conclusion 
that marriage is a mistake, Hal — the greatest mistake 
one can make.” 

“ Come! Come! you’re the last man in the world 
who should say that, Alan ! Why, Alice positively 
adores you — I always quote you among my acquain- 
tance as the luckiest fellow I know.” 

“ That doesn’t disprove the truth of my assertion. 
Hal ! It’s the condition of marriage that I condemn. 
See what it has done for me ! Tied me for life to an 
invalid, who can neither join in my pursuits and 
amusements, nor look after my establishment as she 
should do. We have almost had to give up entertain- 


24 


1 SCARLET SIN. 


ing on account of it, for the ladies don’t care to come 
to a house where the mistress scarcely ever shows 
herself, and my sister (though an excellent, well- 
meaning woman) is not a genial hostess.” 

“ Poor Alice,” said Fauntleroy, “ and she was such 
a lovely creature when you married her! Boy as I 
was, I can remember how I admired her sweet, blush- 
ing face and her shy, girlish ways. She was my type 
of womanhood.” 

“ Ah ! fight shy of those ethereal, angelic-looking 
women for yourself, Hal. Take warning by me, and 
choose a wife with more flesh and blood in her, and 
less spirituality. It may be very pretty to look at, 
my boy, but it isn’t healthy. Transparent complex- 
ions, fragile forms, and varying blushes, mean hysteria, 
dyspepsia and consumption, and anything but a 
woman fit to bring your children into the world ! 
Look at me now with this splendid estate on which 
I, and my father, and my grandfather were all born 
and reared, — and I have to keep it up, and spend 
money on it, for some distant cousin, or other, to 
inherit after me ! — so distant that I don’t really know, 
if I died to-morrow, who would be my heir. And 
we — whose names have been known in the country 
for generations past ! It is too hard ! Do you think 
I don’t remember it every time I walk over the estate, 
and curse my folly for not having had more fore- 
sight ? ” 

“ Poor Alice ! ” reiterated Captain Fauntleroy, with 
a sigh. 

“ And I think you might add poor Alan. The 
fact is, every nation manages their marriages better 


A SCARLET SW. 


2f, 

than we do ! They should be ordered as they were 
in ancient Rome, and not declared valid until the 
woman has borne a son.” 

“Come, old man, you don’t mean what you say,” 
replied his friend soothingly. “ I know the want of an 
heir has been a great disappointment to you, but, after 
all, marriage was instituted for something higher and 
holier than that, and I am sure that you would not 
change your wife for any woman in the world.” 

At this direct thrust Sir Alan looked rather con- 
scious. 

“ Well ! perhaps not ! I married her from feelings 
of affection only ! No one knows that better than 
yourself, and she is undoubtedly very fond of me., 
Still, I maintain that it is very hard for a man of two 
and forty, with every capability for enjoyment, to be 
chained to a sick woman, who looks ten years older 
than himself, and who leaves him to go about the 
world without companionship or counsel. Honestly, 
Hal, Alice is not of the least possible comfort to me.” 

“I grant that, Alan, and I realize the difficulties of 
the position ; still they might have been worse. You 
might have married a wife who was indifferent to you 
— or even deserted you ! Here am I at six and 
thirty, a bachelor and likely to remain so, and all 
because a confounded jilt thought fit to play fast and 
loose with me.” 

“How was that, Hal? You have never men- 
tioned it before.” 

“ Perhaps not ! I don’t care to parade my wounds 
for the inspection of the public ! I only spoke of it 
now to show you that others suffer as well as yourself, 
though in a different way.” 


26 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“Tell me about it, old boy! We have never had 
any secrets from each other.” 

“There is not much to tell. It happened five 
years ago, when we were stationed at Plymouth. I 
met one of those beautiful Devonshire girls — ‘ De- 
vonshire witches ’ they call them, and I am sure she 
bewitched me — and I fell desperately in love with 
her. I had never experienced a real passion before, 
you see,” added Captain Fauntleroy almost apologe- 
tically ; “ and where a man doesn’t take the measles 
until he is over thirty, he generally takes them badly. 
I fully intended to marry the girl — for she was the 
most fascinating creature I have ever met — and I 
believed her to be fond of me, because she always 
said so, and flirted with me outrageously for months, 
but, when I plucked up courage to propose to her, 
she put me off in the neatest manner possible, by 
declaring she was under age (I am sure she was not 
though), and had no power under her late father’s 
will of marrying without the consent of her guardian 
and trustee. I demanded an introduction to this 
worthy, who dismissed my suit on account of my 
poverty with an insolence that made every drop of 
blood in my body boil.” 

“ Did the lady approve his action ? ” 

“Of course she said she didn’t, but I had seen 
enough of the determination of her character to be 
sure that, had she chosen, she could have held her 
own against a dozen guardians. But she did not 
love me — she had only been amusing herself at my 
expense — that was the truth of it, and when I dis- 
covered the truth, I left her. But not unscathed. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


27 


Alan ! I shall be a bachelor to my life’s end for her 
sake.” 

“ Such a woman is not worth the regret of a life- 
time,” replied the baronet. “ Try your luck once more, 
old man ! There are as good fish in the sea as ever 
came out of it! I only wish I had your chance of 
choosing again.” 

“ Don’t say that , Alan,” cried Fauntleroy earnestly, 
“ for it is not true ; cherish a sweet pure angel like 
Alice whilst you have her, for you don’t know how 
many she-devils there are walking about the world 
in robes of light.” 

Sir Alan was about to make some caustic reply 
when the footman appeared to announce the arrival 
of Dr. Jolliffe. 

“ Show him in here,” he exclaimed, and then, as 
the doctor appeared, he continued in his own genial 
manner, “ Ah ! Doctor ! how are you ? Sit down and 
take a glass of wine with us ! It’s good of you to 
come up here for the second time to-day, but I feel 
rather anxious to hear what you think of Lady Chi- 
chester.” 

“ I will leave you together,” said Fauntleroy, rising 
from his chair. 

“ Not at all,” cried Sir Alan, and, “ not at all, sir,” 
repeated the doctor. “ Had I any private communi- 
cation to make concerning her ladyship, I should 
have asked to see Sir Alan in another room.” 

“Then you don’t consider her so very ill,” remarked 
the baronet, returning to his pipe. 

“No, not very ill — decidedly,” said Dr. Jolliffe 
slowly; “but in a condition requiring the utmost 
care.” 


28 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ She has nothing actually the matter with her, 
then ? ” 

“ I don’t say that, Sir Alan ! ” 

“You are very mysterious, doctor ! ” 

" Say rather, very cautious. In some cases we are 
compelled to be so, and, to tell you the honest truth, 
I am not prepared to give a decided opinion upon 
her ladyship. There are symptoms present which 
might portend very different issues. But I have 
quite made up my mind on one thing.” 

“ What is that ? ” 

“ That Lady Chichester must not be permitted to 
lead her present life for a day longer than is neces- 
sary. She wants more brightness and cheerfulness 
infused into her, Sir Alan. She needs rousing from 
the apathy into which she has fallen. She mustn’t 
be left alone to read or work, or brood by herself! 
She must have constant pleasant society to amuse 
and distract her.” 

“ Won’t it be sufficient if my sister makes a point 
of always remaining with her ? I am sure she would 
do it, if it is for Lady Chichester’s good.” 

Dr. Jolliffe made a grimace and shook his head. 

“No! Sir Alan, no! This is a question on which 
I must have my own way, even at the risk of offend- 
ing you. Miss Chichester is not at all the sort of 
companion for her ladyship. She is too hard — too 
unsympathetic — too autocratic, in fact. I want some- 
one younger, softer and more lovable. I have known 
you long enough, I hope, to be able to say this.” 

“ O ! yes ! It’s all right ! I know Anna can make 
herself very disagreeable at times. What, then, do 
you propose ?” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


29 


“ I want you to engage some young person as Lady 
Chichester’s companion.” 

“ Confound it ! How am I to set about the busi- 
ness ? I don’t know where ‘ companions ’ are to be 
found ! There are none round Glebe Royal. There 
never was a place so destitute of girls.” 

“Just so ! and they wouldn’t be the right sort of 
girls if you found them. Will you let me help you 
in the matter, Sir Alan ? I have a married brother 
in practice in London, and his wife has often helped 
me out of a difficulty. If I have your permission to 
tell her what we require, she will soon send down the 
right person from town for us.” 

“If you are quite sure it is necessary,” replied Sir 
Alan ; “ but I must say that I hate the idea of a 
stranger about the house.” 

“This young lady, if she knows her duty, will not 
intrude upon Sir Alan. She will come here to devote 
her energies exclusively to Lady Chichester ! She 
will read aloud to her, and play and sing if required 
— arrange her needlework, write her letters, carry 
her messages, and accompany her out driving or 
walking — behave herself, in fact, as if she had the 
good luck to be her ladyship’s daughter ! And if 
she doesn’t do all this — if she doesn’t prove satis- 
factory, we must send her back, and try another ! It 
is the first prescription I order for Lady Chichester.” 

“And you think it will cure her ?” 

“ I think it will have a beneficial effect on her 
health, whatever may succeed it. For I will not 
conceal from Sir Alan that her ladyship’s condition 
is not satisfactory. You must see that for yourself. 


30 


A SCARLET SLAT. 


These constant fainting fits, without any palpable 
cause, are not the right thing at all ! ” 

“ And yet you can’t tell what they proceed from,” 
said Sir Alan moodily. 

“ I decline to say what I think, until I am sure,” 
replied Dr. Jolliffe; “but when I am sure, you shall 
be the first to benefit by the discovery. Meanwhile, 
I do not consider her ladyship in any immediate 
danger, and the more you distract her mind from 
dwelling on herself, the better she will be. And now 
I will go home and write that letter to my sister-in- 
law, and I shall hope, in a few days, to have some 
news for you. Good-evening.” 

“ It’s all d d unsatisfactory, it seems to me,” 

grumbled Sir Alan, when the doctor had disappeared; 
“ he doesn’t seem to have the least idea what’s the 
matter with Alice, and as for a companion doing her 
any good, I don’t believe it. I detest the idea of 
some vulgar, apple-cheeked girl about Glebe Royal — 
some creature, half servant, half lady, not fit for the 
kitchen, and not good enough for the drawing-room ! 
Alice ought to have more spirit than to consent to 
such an arrangement. If I could only make her 
shake off her confounded laziness, and go out walking 
with Anna, she’d be well enough.” 

But notwithstanding his grumbling, Henry Faunt- 
leroy observed that, as soon as he had finished smok- 
ing, Sir Alan walked up to his wife’s dressing-room 
and remained there for the remainder of the evening. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


31 


CHAPTER IY. 

LADY CHICHESTER’S COMPANION. 

Dr. Jolliffe wa as good as his word. Rewrote 
a full description of what he wanted to his sister-in- 
law before he went to bed that night, and in the 
course of a few days he received the following reply : 

“ My Dear Andrew, 

“Your request that I should look out for a suitable 
companion for Lady Chichester reached me at an oppor- 
tune moment, as I had just promised to find a nurse to 
accompany a patient of your brother’s to India, so I was 
able to prosecute search for both parties at the same time, 
and I believe that I have been successful. I have seen 
several young ladies who are anxious to obtain the situa- 
tion, but one amongst them strikes me as especially suit- 
able. Her name is Charlotte Murray, her age (she tells 
me) is twenty-four, but she looks older. She is apparently 
quick, sensible and well educated, speaks perfectly, and has 
every appearance of a lady. She is a pleasant looking 
young woman also, and very modest in her demeanor ; her 
references are good. She is an orphan, but I have seen 
her uncle and guardian, who is evidently a gentleman of 
birth, though in poor circumstances, or (as he told me) 
nothing would induce him to allow his niece to earn her 
own living. He showed me a letter from her last employer, 
now in America, speaking in the highest terms of Miss 
Murray’s devotion to his daughter (now deceased), and of 
his own gratitude to her. Miss Murray sang and played to 
me; she seems to be a competent musician. She also 
speaks French and German, having been educated abroad. 
She asks one hundred pounds a year as salary, and I 
scarcely think your friends will obtain what they require 
for less. 


3 2 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Let me hear what you think about it as soon as possible, 
that I may give the young lady her answer. She is very 
anxious it should be in the affirmative. 

“ I am, dear Andrew, 

“ Your affectionate sister-in-law, 

“ Margaret Jolliffe. 

“ P.S. — Joseph says that Miss Murray is more than pleasant 
looking, that she is very handsome. Doubtless you 
gentlemen are better judges in such matters than myself, 
but I still adhere to my own opinion.’* 

Dr. Jolliffe read this letter two or three times over 
before he replaced it in the envelope. 

“Yes,” he said to himself, “Miss Murray sounds 
promising. Margaret is such a severe judge of her 
own sex, that she has probably made less of her 
attractions than they really are, and a girl with such 
accomplishments must necessarily be quick witted. 
I think we must try Miss Charlotte Murray. I will 
walk up to Glebe Royal and ask Sir Alan’s opinion 
on the subject at once.” 

Sir Alan’s opinion did not prove to be worth much 
He was still opposed, in his own mind, to his wife’s 
having a companion, but as the doctor considered it 
necessary, of course it must be so. Only he wished 
that they would arrange the matter among them- 
selves without any reference to him. He knew no 
more about it than he did about engaging Lady Chi- 
chester’s maid. If Jolliffe considered it all right, he 
had better send for the girl. Miss Chichester was 
even less cordial than her brother, on being called to 
a consultation on Miss Murray’s probable fitness for 
the post of companion to her sister-in-law. She 
sniffed and snorted and declared openly that she had 


A SCARLET SW. 


33 


never given her consent to such a thing, and declined 
to give her opinion. Alice had better decide for 
herself. 

And then Lady Chichester was appealed to, and, 
on the letter being read to her, turned her scared eyes 
first on Alan and then on Anna, and finding no help 
from them, begged Dr. Jolliffe to do as he thought 
best, and so the doctor followed his own instincts, 
and sent word to London to have Miss Murray en- 
gaged at once, and sent down to Glebe Royal as 
soon as might be convenient to herself. When he 
had been advised of the train by which the young 
lady would arrive, he walked down to the station to 
meet her. The Glebe Royal carriage, with a couple 
of horses and a couple of men servants, was there 
before him (for' whatever Sir Alan Chichester’s dis- 
position might be, he never forgot what was due to 
himself), but Dr. Jolliffe stood on the platform de- 
termined that it should not carry the new-comer away 
until he had an interview with her. When the train 
arrived, there was but one passenger for Glebe Royal, 
and he knew at once that it must be the person he 
waited for — a tall, slight figure, modestly attired in a 
dark traveling ulster, and a black hat with a thick 
gauze veil tied round it which almost concealed her 
features. She was standing still, until the porters 
should secure her luggage, when the doctor accosted 
her. 

“ Miss Charlotte Murray, I presume.” 

She turned quickly at his words, and the doctor 
saw a pair of large dark eyes with strongly marked 
brows regarding him curiously. 

3 


34 


A SCARLET SM. 


“Am I speaking to Sir Alan Chichester? 0 she 
asked. 

“0! dear no! My name is Jolliffe. I am the 
brother-in-law of the lady who engaged you. I am 
also Lady Chichester’s medical adviser. And before 
you go to Glebe Royal I should like to have a few 
words with you respecting her ladyship.” 

“O! certainly! Have they sent any vehicle for 
me ? ” 

“Yes, the carriage is waiting.” 

“Then perhaps we can drive on together, and you 
can say what you wish to me on the journey,” she 
answered, in a perfectly assured voice. 

The doctor was a little puzzled. He couldn’t 
make her out. Instead of a shy and somewhat 
nervous dependent, coming for the first time to a 
new situation, Miss Murray appeared and spoke 
more like a guest who was about to confer an honor 
on Glebe Royal by her company. However, he 
agreed to her proposal and entered the carriage with 
her, and, having asked the coachman to drive slowly, 
at once opened the conversation. 

“Doubtless Mrs. Jolliffe informed you, Miss Mur- 
ray, that Lady Chichester is a great invalid, in fact 
she has so given way of late years to nervous debility 
and depression of spirits that she has become almost 
incapable of controlling her actions.” 

“ Do you mean that she is out of her mind ? ” 
demanded the stranger coolly. 

“ Dear me, no ! nothing of the sort, only she is 
lamentably weak and inert. She lies all day on the 
sofa, and believes herself unable to appear .at the 


A SCARLET SIN. 


35 


dinner-table, or take the slightest exercise. Now, 
this is all fancy ! She can walk and she must walk, 
or drive daily, and be encouraged to move about the 
house. I understand you are an excellent musician. 
Lady Chichester was at one time devoted to music. 
Try and rouse her interest in it again. Read and 
talk to her, and make her laugh if possible. Keep 
her mind interested as much as you can, and never 
discuss her own symptoms with her, for I wish her, 
if possible, to forget that she is ill.” 

“ You think she won’t live/’ remarked Miss Mur- 
ray. 

The doctor started. He did think so, but he did 
not care for his thoughts being read in such an off- 
hand manner, and he refuted the suggestion almost 
angrily. 

“Certainly not ! I am surprised you should say 
such a thing, and I beg you will not breathe a hint of 
it at Glebe Royal. Sir Alan is devoted to his wife, 
and the mere idea would make him miserable. All 
that Lady Chichester needs is cheering up, and it is 
with the hope that a young and bright companion 
may have that effect upon her that you have been 
sent for.” 

“ I will do my best, of course,” replied Miss 
Murray. The carriage was turning into the park 
gates by this time, and Dr. Jolliffe thought he had 
better get down. 

“ There is no need for me to go further,” he said ; 
“you know what is required of you now, and I am 
sure you will do your utmost to second our en- 
deavors and to carry them out.” 


36 


A SCARLET SUV, 


“ But why quit me ? ” urged the young lady ; “ since 
your patient is so nervous, surely it would be better 
for you to stay and introduce me to her ? When the 
first introduction is over, you can leave us to make 
friends with each other with greater confidence.” 

“You are a bright girl,” replied Dr. Jolliffe 
admiringly, “and I feel sure we shall get on together. 
You are right. I will take you myself into the 
presence of her ladyship.” 

As he handed her from the carriage at the hall 
door he asked the servant if Sir Alan was at home. 

“ No, sir,” replied the man ; “ Sir Alan has driven 
the captain over to Broxton in the dog-cart. The 
captain leaves to-day for Cork, sir.” 

“O indeed ! I didn’t know he was going so soon. 
Is her ladyship in the drawing-room ? ” 

“Yes, sir,” and in another minute their names had 
been announced to Lady Chichester. The poor little 
woman was standing by her sofa as they entered the 
room, trembling all over with the dreaded antici- 
pation of meeting a stranger, but Dr. Jolliffe went up 
to her at once, and took her reassuringly by the 
hand. 

“Here, my lady, is Miss Murray,” he exclaimed, 
“ ready to do all in her power to help and assist you. 
Miss Murray and I have been having a long talk 
together as we drove up from the station, and I am 
sure that she fully understands what will be required 
of her.” 

“ I am afraid she will find it so dull here, all alone 
with me. I am such poor company,” replied her 
ladyship in a deprecating voice. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


37 


“ I feel sure that I shall do nothing of the sort, 
Lady Chichester,” said the new-comer in her rich 
tones, " that is, if you permit me to be your com- 
panion. I love the country dearly, and all country 
amusements, and you will never hear me complain of 
dullness whilst I have music, and literature, and your 
society.” 

Lady Chichester seemed suddenly to gain courage 
from the other’s confidence. It was a case of the 
stronger mind controlling the weaker. 

“ O ! my dear,” she exclaimed, “ you have a beauti- 
ful voice ! Do take off your veil and let me see your 
face ! ” 

The young lady gave a low laugh, as she disen- 
gaged herself from her headgear, and stood revealed 
to her employer. What a contrast they formed to 
one another! It took the doctor’s breath away to 
look at them. They were as opposite in appearance 
as a damask rose and a lily of the valley. And yet, 
at first sight, Miss Murray did not appear to possess 
any particular beauty. She had large dark eyes with 
straight black brows, a nose too short to be symme- 
trical, and a large mouth with red lips and a set of 
perfect teeth. But she possessed physical vitality to 
an extraordinary degree. Her face glowed with 
health, you might almost see the electric fluid in her 
blue-black hair, and her upright form was the embodi- 
ment of feminine vigor. As she stood before them 
she seemed to make Lady Chichester shrivel to half 
her former size, and the sickly pallor of her com- 
plexion to take on darker shades, but the force of the 
contrast did not strike the one who suffered from it. 


38 


A SCARLET SIN. 


On the contrary, she seemed to be attracted by the 
very difference between them, and to bask in her 
new companion’s physical powers, as a sick man 
basks in the sun. 

“ O ! my dear ! ” she cried, admiringly, “ you are 
beautiful ! How I wish I had your robust appear- 
ance! You will be quite a tower of strength to me. 
Doctor, you have brought me someone I can lean 
upon. How shall I ever be able to thank you ! But 
Miss Murray will be glad of a cup of tea after her 
journey. Please ring the bell. And take off your 
heavy cloak, my dear. This room must feel very 
warm to you.” 

Upon which Miss Murray divested herself of her 
ulster, and shewed she possessed a perfect figure, well 
developed — round and supple. 

Lady Chichester had become quite excited. Her 
cheeks were flushed, her eyes shone, and she kept 
moving about the room in a restless, nervous manner. 

“ Will not your ladyship lie down on the sofa and 
let me serve the tea ? ” said Miss Murray as the tray 
made its appearance. “You must not think me 
officious, but I suppose this is to be one of my duties, 
and the sooner I am installed in them the better.” 

“ O my dear Miss Murray, but you must be so 
tired,” expostulated Lady Chichester. 

“ Not at all. You don’t know how strong I am,” 
replied Miss Murray, and having assisted Lady 
Chichester to the sofa, and placed the couvre-pieds 
over her feet, she made and handed her a cup of tea. 

“Isn’t this nice, doctor?” said her ladyship with 
a little watery smile* as she sipped her tea • “sq 


A SCARLET SIM 


39 


different from having John to pour it out for me, or 
even poor old Jane ! It takes away my appetite to 
eat or drink alone.” 

“ I don’t think Miss Murray will ever allow you to 
do that again,” replied the doctor, who was secretly 
delighted at the success of his plan. 

'‘Of course not,” said Miss Murray decidedly, 
“ that is if Lady Chichester consents to it. We can 
have the cosiest little dinners together by the fire 
when she doesn’t feel equal to sitting at the dinner 
table.” 

“ O my dear, that will be good of you ! ” exclaimed 
Lady Chichester quite eagerly, “and I really think I 
could eat a little chicken or something if you talked 
to me the while. And then, when I have gained 
strength I may be able to go into dinner again as 
usual.” 

“ Of course. It only requires a little time,” said 
Miss Murray, cheerfully. 

And Dr, Jolliffe left them on the high road to 
friendship and sociability, and chuckling to himself 
over his own perspicuity of judgment. 


40 


A SCARLET SIN. 


CHAPTER V. 

THE BARONET IS CONVERTED. 

Sir Alan came home later than usual that evening, 
and the dinner gong had sounded ten minutes before 
he entered the hall. He was rather out of sorts too, 
— partly because a resting horse and a dark road had 
caused the delay, and partly because he had lost his 
chum, Fauntleroy, who had received an unexpected 
summons to rejoin his regiment Captain Fauntle- 
roy represented his chief interest in life at that 
moment. He filled the void created by his wife’s 
illness and his sister’s uncongeniality with his com- 
panionship. Sir Alan entered the house hastily, and 
threw his thick driving ulster to his servant before 
he went upstairs. 

“ Anybody called ? ” he asked curiously. 

“ No one, Sir Alan — except the doctor when he 
brought the young person as is come to wait on her 
ladyship.” 

The baronet’s brow contracted. He had forgotten 
all about the “ companion.’ 

“ Oh ! ah ! So she has arrived. What is she 
like ? ” he was just about to add, when he remem- 
bered he was talking to his servant, and substituted, 
“ Where is she ? ” 

“In the drawing-room, Sir Alan, with her lady- 


A SCARLET SW. 


4 * 


ship. The dinner has just been carried in there. 
It’s ten minutes past seven, Sir Alan.” 

“ All right ! Ask Miss Chichester to give me five 
minutes’ grace,” he said, as he walked upstairs. 

His sister was looking very grim when he joined 
her. She did not approve of unpunctuality, even in 
the master of Glebe Royal, and at the age of forty- 
two. But she had been so accustomed from his 
birth to regard her brother Alan as the “ baby of the 
family,” that she had not got out of the habit of 
correcting him even now. 

After detailing the departure of Henry Fauntleroy, 
and the reason of his delay, Sir Alan alluded to the 
matter which was somewhat worrying them both. 

“ Have you seen the new arrival ? ” he asked, as the 
domestics left them for a moment to themselves. 

“ I have,” replied Miss Chichester curtly. 

“ What is she like ? Nice ? ” 

“ It is impossible to judge in so short a time. I 
was only in the drawing-room for a few minutes.” 

“ Is she good-looking ? ” 

Miss Chichester snorted in her peculiar manner. 

“ I don’t know what you may call her. She 
strongly resembles Sarah Jenkins to my mind.” 
(Sarah Jenkins being a black-eyed, vicious-looking 
dairy maid lately added to the establishment.) 

Sir Alan’s face fell. 

“Like Jenkins? O Lord! But I won’t have 
Alice worried on any account, so if this young person 
doesn’t turn out trumps she’ll have to go.” 

“ O ! Alice seems more than satisfied for so short an 
acquaintance. However, she will doubtless tell you 
all about it after dinner,” 


42 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“Yes! yes! Alice will be the best judge of what 
she wants,” he replied hastily, as he turned his 
attention to the meal before him. As it drew to a 
close, and his sister rose to leave the dining-room, a 
strain of music entered through the door which 
opened for her egress. 

“ There ! ” she exclaimed, stopping short, “ that is 
the sort of thing l I suppose, we may expect to have 
to endure at any time, whether we desire it or not!” 

“ She sings well,” remarked Sir Alan, lifting his 
head to listen. 

“ Sings well!" retorted Miss Chichester angrily, 
“so does a canary or a lark, but we don’t want our 
ears split, all the same. So loud too. You might 
hear it all over the house. I consider it great impu- 
dence in a stranger.” 

“ Alice has probably asked the young lady to sing. 
Are you going in there ?” 

“Certainly not! I hate all sorts of music, as you 
know well. I shall go up to my own apartment 
until bed time. If you want me, you will know 
where to find me,” replied his sister as she bounced 
out of the room. 

“ It was certainly time poor Alice had a companion 
of some sort,” mused Sir Alan sitting alone, “ for 
Anna is a most unsociable person. I hope it will 
turn out well. Whatever the girl may be like^she 
has certainly a magnificent voice.” 

He lingered a little in his passage to the drawing- 
room listening to it. Miss Murray was singing a 
German love song, one at which poor Lady Chi- 
chester had been, used to make a feeble attempt in 


A SCARLET SIM 


43 


the time gone by ; but Sir Alan, in the memories it 
brought with it, forgot the un worthiness of the inter- 
pretation, and thought only of how happy and hope- 
ful he had been in the days when he had last heard 
it sung. He was passionately fond of music and so 
was his wife, though neither of them were musicians 
(artistically speaking), and a very softened feeling 
came over him as he stood outside the drawing-room 
and listened to the dulcet German air. It brought 
back Alice in her prime to him — Alice, with soft, fair 
hair and tender eyes — and when at last he entered 
the room, it came almost like a shock to him to see 
his wife standing there, with every appearance of 
youth vanished for ever. His entrance caused a 
little commotion. Lady Chichester gave an exclama- 
tion, and the young lady at the grand piano jumped 
up and stood in a respectful attitude of expectation. 

“ Don’t let me disturb you,” were his first words. 

“ O Alan ! I am so glad you have come,” cried his 
wife, “you will be charmed with Miss Murray’s sing- 
ing. And she is so clever too! She never saw any 
of those songs before, and yet she can sing them 
straight off. They are my old songs, you know. 
Miss Murray has not unpacked her own music yet.” 

“ I recognized the last one, Alice, as having been 
one of yours. But you have not yet introduced me 
to this young lady.” 

“ How silly of me! I was forgetting you have not 
met. Miss Murray, this is my husband, Sir Alan 
Chichester. I am sure he will delight in your music,” 

“ It will be at Sir Alan’s service,” replied Miss 
Murray, deferentially, but as she bowed to her new 


44 


A SCARLET Sltf. 


employer she looked him full in the face with her 
speaking eyes. Sir Alan was certainly surprised, and 
somewhat startled. The first impression made upon 
him by Miss Murray was not that she was the 
handsomest woman he had ever seen, but certainly 
the most remarkable. ITe had not enjoyed a large 
experience of women, for he hated London, and 
seldom left Glebe Royal, except when obliged to do 
so. His circle of acquaintance, therefore, had been 
narrowed (like that of his sister), and the ladies of 
the county families who visited his wife had never 
appeared either entertaining or interesting in his eyes. 
Indeed, for a man of his age, he was singularly 
innocent of the wish or intention of wrong-doing ; 
and disappointing as his married life had proved, he 
had never dreamed of letting his thoughts stray from 
their legal resting-place. He was all the more likely 
therefore to prove a deserter, when a stray tempta- 
tion was placed in his way, because he was so 
ignorant that he ran any risk in encountering it. 

The new-comer struck him as remarkable at first 
sight, because she formed so great a contrast to what 
his eyes had been accustomed to see. Clad in a 
perfectly plain and perfectly fitting cloth dress, 
which showed every line of a figure replete with 
grace — with her abundance of dark hair piled upon 
her head, and a kind of subdued passion smoulder- 
ing in her eyes and playing about the curves of her 
mouth, Miss Charlotte Murray (without being a 
beautiful woman in the strict sense of the word) 
doubtless formed a very beautiful picture. It has 
been too often proved to need repetition, that it is 


A SCARLET ST 1ST, 


45 


not the most faultless beauty that takes the strongest 
hold upon the other sex. Regular features are too 
apt to lack expression, and where is the charm of an 
eye that cannot speak, and a mouth that cannot look 
unutterable things, as the soul within plays upon 
them in dumb show ? Sir Alan felt his blood stirred 
in an unaccountable manner, as he encountered Miss 
Murray’s gaze, and was angry with himself the next 
minute for the sensation, for, after all, what had the 
poor girl done to provoke it ? 

“ There is nothing I enjoy more,” he answered, 
referring to the music, “ but don’t let me interrupt 
you ; pray proceed.” 

“ I think her ladyship must have had enough for 
this evening,” said Miss Murray discreetly, moving 
away from the piano ; “ another time, perhaps.” 

“O no! no! ” cried Lady Chichester, eagerly. “ Do 
sing again. I want Sir Alan to hear you. He will 
enjoy it as much as I do. Please sing the ‘Lieder* 
once more.” 

The young lady complied, her rich contralto 
voice throwing all the force and expression of which 
it was capable into the impassioned German love 
song, and dying away on the last plaintive notes, 
until one might have heard a pin drop amidst the 
sweet, faint tones. 

Meanwhile Lady Chichester, who had induced her 
husband to occupy the seat next her on the sofa, and 
had got fast hold of his hand between her own, kept 
on murmuring in his ear, — 

“ Isn’t it lovely ? Isn’t she clever ? O Alan ! I 
am so glad she has come. I am sure she will be a 
comfort to me.” 


46 


A SCARLET SIN. 


And he continued to answer at random, “Yes, 
dear! Yes, dear!” whilst his whole soul was 
being drawn out of itself, and absorbed by the 
glorious tones that filled the apartment. When the 
song was concluded for the second time, Miss Mur- 
ray quickly closed the instrument, and asked Lady 
Chichester’s leave to withdraw. 

“ If your ladyship can spare me,” she said defer- 
entially, “and since Sir Alan is here I should like to 
unpack some of my things for the night.” 

“ But shall I not see you again ? ” asked Lady 
Chichester in a pleading voice. 

“ Certainly, if your ladyship wishes it,” returned 
Miss Murray smiling. “You have but to send for me, 
you know. Perhaps you would like me to attend 
you to bed. What time do you retire ? ” 

“ About nine as a rule, and I should like to see 
you then very much, Miss Murray. I seldom go to 
sleep at once, and old Jane worries me with her silly 
chatter.” 

“ I will read you to sleep, if you will let me try,” 
said her companion, briskly. 

“ O ! that would be charming, if it won’t fatigue 
you too much.” 

“You need not be afraid of that. I don’t know 
the meaning of the word. And now, I will leave you 
for a little.” 

“ But, Miss Murray — one moment ! Do you prefer 
to be addressed formally, or may I call you by your 
Christian name ? ” 

“ I should feel honored by your ladyship using it. 
But please don’t call me ‘ Charlotte.’ I dislike the 
name, and I am never called by it.” 


A SCARLET Sm. 


47 


“ What, then ? ” 

“ ‘ Cora/ if you don’t mind. It is only a shorten- 
ing of the other, and I am afraid I should not answer 
readily to anything else.” 

“ O, I think it is lovely, and I like it exceedingly. 
Good-bye, then, Cora, for a little while, and Jane shall 
let you know when I am ready to retire.” On this, 
the young lady bowed respectfully to them both, and 
left the apartment. 

As soon as she was out of sight, Lady Chichester 
turned to her husband. 

“ O Alan ! What do you think of her ? Isn’t she 
charming ? I feel that I can never thank Dr. Jolliffe 
enough for sending her here. She has quite bright- 
ened me up. I ate a better dinner than I have 
done for weeks.” 

The baronet’s acquiescence was given with dis- 
cretion. 

“Yes, she seems a suitable young person, and I 
hope she may prove of use to you, but, Alice, don’t 
make too much of her. Remember, she is, after all, 
but a kind of upper servant, and keep her in her 
proper place.” 

“ O Alan ! she is a perfect lady ! You can surely 
see that.” 

“That may be, but even ladies sometimes en- 
croach upon kindness. You must take care to main- 
tain your dignity. But she certainly has a most 
beautiful voice.” 

“ She has indeed, and do you know, dear, I have 
been thinking already, how nice it would be if you 
would let her play your accompaniments and get up 
some of your old songs again.” 


4 * 


A SCARLET SIN. 


Sir Alan laughed. 

“ My dear Alice, my voice must be like a cracked 
tin kettle by this time. It is years since you ever 
touched the piano for my benefit, and I have forgot- 
ten the little I ever knew. I wonder if that girl has 
ever been on horseback. She has a magnificent 
figure for the saddle.” 

“ Hardly likely, dear, I should think, in her position. 
She must be very poor, I am afraid, to do all she is 
going to do for me for a hundred a year.” 

“Nonsense! It’s a very good salary for a young 
woman like that, and look at all the advantages she 
gains with it. Where are you putting her to sleep ? ” 

“ In the room next mine. I gave her the choice 
between that and the one above, but she says she 
would rather be near me in case I should want her 
in the night.” 

Sir Alan sighed. He had been banished to an 
upper chamber for a long time past, because his 
vigorous breathing disturbed the precarious slumber 
of his wife. 

“ Have you had one of those horrid fainting fits 
to-day, Alice ? ” 

“Not a regular one, dear Alan. Only a slight 
attack on rising this morning. O dear, how I wish 
that I were strong ! ” 

“ Well, let us hope that this young lady may help 
you to become so. Are you going to try and drive 
to-morrow ? ” 

“Indeed, I am! Miss Murray says that she will 
wrap me up so warmly that I shall not feel the cold 
at all. I think I shall call her ‘Cora/ Alan. She is 
so much younger than I am.” 


A SCARLET SM. 


49 


11 Call her anything you like, my dear, so long as 
she continues to treat you with proper respect.” 

And so they talked over the merits of the new- 
comer, until Lady Chichester felt weary and went to 
bed, and Sir Alan sought refuge in his smoking-room. 

4 


50 


A SCARLET SIN. 


CHAPTER VI. 

OPPOSITION IN THE HOUSEHOLD. 

The first unpleasantness which Lady Chichester 
encountered because of Miss Cora Murray came 
through her old servant, Jane Wood. This woman, 
now sixty years of age, had been her nurse when she 
was a child, and had followed her to her husband’s 
home when she became a wife. Like many of the 
humbler class, when they take a real attachment, her 
feelings were very strong, and usually evinced them- 
selves by an intense jealousy of every one who 
approached her mistress. She still looked upon 
Lady Chichester as the delicate child whom she had 
nursed through so many illnesses, and she scolded 
her just the same as she had done then, if she took 
any liberties with her weakly constitution. On the 
evening of Miss Murray’s arrival old Jane descended 
to the drawing-room exactly at nine o’clock to attend 
her mistress to her bedroom, and, when they reached 
it, she commenced to undress her, for she had never 
allowed any lady’s maid to usurp her privileges. 
Her ladyship’s private attendant might look after 
her wardrobe, and wait upon her room, but old Jane 
was the only person admitted to the sanctities of the 
toilet. 

“Your ladyship looks over-tired to me to-night,” 
she remarked, sourly, as she removed the different 


A SCARLET SIN. 


51 


articles of clothing. “ Your face is quite flushed. I 
expect you’ve been sitting up too much.” 

“ O ! no, indeed, Jane,” exclaimed Lady Chiches- 
ter, as though anxious to disarm her wrath. “ I have 
hardly sat up at all. I have been lying down ever 
since Miss Murray left me. What is Miss Murray 
doing ? Have you seen her, Jane ? ” 

“ Seen her ,” echoed the servant, “ what should I 
want to see her for ? She ain’t come here to be 
looked at, has she ? Though I don’t know what else 
she was wanted for ! There are more than enough 
of us to wait on your ladyship, and this young person 
is like the fifth wheel of a coach, to my mind.” 

“ But Miss Murray has come to be my companion , , 
Jane — not to wait on me,” said Lady Chichester, 
timidly. 

“ Companion!” sneered the old woman, “as if she 
was fit to be the companion of such as yon — a 
baronet’s lady, and the daughter of one of the oldest 
squires in the county ! ” 

a But you don’t understand, nurse ! Miss Murray 
is a lady, the same as I am, and will drive, and walk, 
and talk with me. I want someone to do that, you 
know. Miss Chichester is so fond of sitting by her- 
self.” 

“ You should have had a family of strapping boys 
and girls,” grumbled the old woman, “and then you 
wouldn’t have been dependant on anyone for com- 
pany.” 

“ Ah nurse ! what is the use of talking about it ? 
It is God’s will.” 

“Rubbish! You’d have had 'em fast enough, if 


5 2 


A SCARLET SIN. 


you’d have taken my advice from the first, and 
looked after yourself a little better.” 

(For it was one of Jane Wood’s fixed ideas, that 
the lack of an heir to Glebe Royal was entirely due 
to the fact of her not having been consulted in the 
matter.) 

“ Don’t speak of it any more, nurse,” replied her 
mistress with a sigh, “ and please ring the bell.” 

“ What for ? ” 

“ I promised to let Miss Murray know when I was 
ready to go to bed. She is going to read me to 
sleep.’ 

The servant’s jealousy took fire at once. 

“You’re going to have that young woman in here 
at this time of night to keep you awake till all hours 
with her gossiping ? Well, then, I won’t allow it ! I 
know your constitution, my lady, better than anyone 
else in the world — not barring your own father and 
mother — and I won’t stand by and see it ruined by a 
stranger. There’s no companions comes into this 
room of nights, whatever mischief they may do by 
day. It’s past nine, and time you was in bed. So 
just you get into it, my lady, and go to sleep as fast 
as you can.” 

“But you know, Jane, that I never can sleep,” 
expostulated Lady Chichester plaintively. “ Some- 
times I lay awake till it is quite light.” 

“ Well ! you’d better lay awake in peace and quiet- 
ness, than with a lot of nonsense dinning in your 
ears. Besides the young woman is most likely asleep 
by this time. They’re all selfish at that age. It’s 
only an old friend like me as would sit up waking 
till all hours to do a good turn for your ladyship,” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


53 


“ Perhaps you’re right, Jane,” replied her mistress, 
as she lay down submissively, “ and besides the poor 
girl will be tired after her journey and want a good 
night’s rest. I should have thought of it before.” 
And she closed her eyes patiently, and tried to fancy 
she was drowsy. 

But old Jane was sill moving about the room, and 
putting away her things in the wardrobe, when there 
came a light tap upon the door. The servant 
(suspecting who it was that asked for admittance) 
unclosed it about half an inch, and informed Miss 
Murray, in an acrid tone, that her ladyship was 
already in bed, and she couldn’t come in. 

“ But that is the very reason I am here,” replied 
the companion, coolly, as quietly but effectually she 
put the woman to one side, and walked into the 
middle of the room. She had exchanged her travel- 
ling dress for a loose wrapper, and held a small 
volume in her hand. 

“ I have been expecting a summons for the last 
half hour, Lady Chichester,” she said pleasantly. 
“ Have you forgotten that we agreed to try if my 
doctor could not lulL you to sleep?” holding up the 
book she carried. 

“ O ! no,” exclaimed Lady Chichester, brightening 
with pleasure. “ I had not forgotten it, indeed, but 
Jane thought you must be very tired, and were likely 
to have gone to bed, and so I didn’t like to disturb 
you.” 

“You mustn’t attend to Jane next time,” replied 
Miss Murray, with an effrontery that made the old 
servant’s few remaining hairs stand on end, “ I am 


54 


A SCARLET SIN. 


here by the doctor’s orders, remember, expressly to 
minister to your ladyship’s need, and I will not 
forego my duties for anyone. And now, you must 
let me put out these lights. One candle behind the 
bed curtain is that I shall require, and more will hurt 
your eyes.” 

“ How thoughtful you are! ” murmured Lady Chi- 
chester, “ you think of everything.” 

“ Has your ladyship all you require for the night ? 
I would rather your maid left the room before I 
commenced reading,” continued Miss Murray. 

“ O ! I’ll go, Miss, sharp enough ! You needn’t 
be afraid of that,” snarled Jane Wood. “ I’ve nursed 
and attended on her ladyship since she was a baby, 
but, of course, I have to give way to any stranger, 
if it’s by the doctor s orders, so I wish you both good- 
night.” And grumbling at the innovation, she took 
her way down the stairs. 

“ Slightly jealous,” remarked Cora Murray, with a 
laugh as she disappeared. “ These old servants are 
terrible tyrants sometimes. But if your ladyship is 
ready I will begin. I mustn’t talk you awake again.” 

She settled herself with her back to her employer 
and commenced in a low rich voice, that was replete 
with feeling, to read ( or almost recite) from Tenny- 
son’s “Idylls of the King.” There are some good 
singing voices that are not melodious in speaking, and 
some natures full of emotion, who have no capability 
of reproducing it in oratory. But Cora Murray could. 
She was a singularly gifted woman, and she knew 
her power, and where she could exercise it. She 
read steadily on for about fifteen minutes, but then, 


A SCARLET SW. 


55 

stealing a sly glance at her patient, found her wide 
awake, and with dilated eyes in which the tears were 
standing, following the pathetic story with sym- 
pathetic eagerness. 

“ O ! this will never do,” said Miss Murray rising, 
“ Tennyson is keeping you awake instead of doing 
the other thing ! I think I must try the effect of 
one of Gladstone’s speeches instead.” 

“ It is so beautiful,” sighed Lady Chichester, “ and 
you have a way of reading that makes it all seem 
real! But go on, for I am really enjoying it.” 

“ I think I had better not, Lady Chichester, for 
excitement may have the worst possible effect on 
you. I did not know you felt poetry so strongly, or 
I would not have advised it as an evening dose. We 
must try it in the forenoon instead. Will you let 
me see if I can magnetize you to sleep ? ” 

“ What is that ? ” 

“ Nothing very formidable ! Only to lay my hands 
upon your forehead in order to induce slumber. It 
does not answer with all people, but I have been 
very successful with my friends. Lying awake at 
night is simply a habit. The nerves require sooth- 
ing. Yet it is a very difficult habit to overcome. 
But once mastered it does not often return.” 

As she continued talking in this indifferent strain 
upon subjects of no great interest, Miss Murray kept 
passing her fingers lightly over Lady Chichester’s 
forehead, and in a few minutes she had the satisfac- 
tion of seeing her eyes close, and after dreamily re- 
opening them two or three times, and murmuring 
some indistinguishable words, Lady Chichester sank 
back on her pillows in a deep, mesmeric sleep. 


5 6 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ I thought she would be a good subject directly I 
saw her,” mused Miss Murray, as she watched her 
ladyships slumber for a few minutes, “ and she is 
about the easiest I ever tried. Plastic as wax I 
should imagine, asleep or awake ! Poor woman ! 
what an existence to lead ! And poor husband too, 
to be tied to her ! I am sure from Dr. Jollifies man- 
ner that he thinks there is something very serious 
the matter. Well, if all turns out as it promises to 
do, it will be decidedly my interest to keep her alive, 
and my own fault if I am not comfortable whilst I 
am here.” 

She made a few more passes over the sleeping 
lady’s forehead, as if to make sure she would not 
wake again, and then she extinguished the light 
and stole softly from the room. And when she 
reached her own apartment, she sat down by the 
fire, and, drawing a small table in front of her, com- 
menced to write the following letter : 


“ Glebe Royal, October ioth. 

“ Dear John, 

“ I have arrived safely, and the old party did not 
exaggerate matters. Everything about the place is as nice 
as can be ; a little countrified perhaps, but peace and 
plenty reigning notwithstanding. Lady C. is an amiable 
nonentity, and Sir A. good-looking but bucolic. The only 
unpleasant member of the family is Miss C., a horrid old 
maid who looked daggers at me, but I shall win her round 
if I can. A pint of oil is worth a gallon of vinegar, as I 
am always trying to impress upon you. I magnetized 
Lady C. to sleep this evening ; I am afraid I should have 
a hard task to magnetize the old maid — cats have never 
been amenable to magnetic influence — but I think the 
baronet would fall an easy prey; doubtless, however, he 
sleeps well enough without it, Altogether, I like the place 


A SCARLET SIN. 


57 


and the people, but remember that I don’t stay in it a day 
longer than I choose. You must understand that plainly. 
I am not a child to be coerced against my will. It was 
my pleasure to come here, and it may be my pleasure to 
leave, as it was some time ago when I was so bothered 
about F. And wherever you may be, whether in New 
Zealand or the Brazils, I claim my right to be with you if 
it suits my purpose. But for awhile (and since I don’t 
particularly care about sea voyages nor any other risks) I 
am contented enough. If you can see me before you start, 
do so, and if it is impossible, let me have full notice of 
your departure. I might get leave to run up to town fora 
day. 

“ Yours affectionately, 

“ Lotta. 

“ P.S. — By the way, when you write, don’t put my own 
name on the address, as I have told them to call me 
‘ Cora.’ ” 

When she had finished this epistle, she put it in an 
envelope, addressed to 

Mr. T. Masham, 

“ Three Pigeons ” Hotel, 

Birkenhead, 

and carefully locked it up in her blotting case before 
she went to bed. The next morning found her 
bright, glowing and vivacious. She was more of a 
daylight than a candlelight beauty, and her wonder- 
ful vitality always made her look as fresh as a rose. 
Her first inquiry of the housemaid who brought her 
hot water was for Lady Chichester. 

“ Have you heard what sort of a night her lady- 
ship has passed, Ruth ? ” 

“ No, Miss ! Old Mrs. Wood is that jealous of 
her ladyship, she won’t let any one of us pass over 
the threshold of her door,” 


58 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Ah ! old Mrs. Wood must be disposed of,’* 
thought Miss Murray with an inward smile *, “her 
ladyship shall see the old nuisance in her true colors 
before she is many weeks older.” But she didn’t 
say anything more to the housemaid. She was too 
clever to show her hand before a servant. 

As she was descending the staircase at the sum- 
mons of the breakfast bell, she was met half-way by 
the same domestic. 

“Your breakfast is laid in here, please, Miss!” 
she said, intimating a small room on the landing. 
Miss Murray entered and found a fire but just lighted, 
and a very simple meal laid for one upon the table. 

“ It is by Miss Chichester’s orders, Miss,” said the 
maid apologetically, “ and she only gave them to me 
ten minutes ago. If I’d known it last night, the fire 
should have been lighted earlier, and I could have 
asked you what you’d like to take. Miss Chichester 
said as an egg and a cup of tea would be sufficient, 
but if you’d like a slice of ham, Miss, or buttered 
toast or anything, I’m sure cook would send it up 
directly.” 

“ No, thank you, Ruth ! It will do very well,” 
replied Miss Murray, quietly, as she took her seat at 
the table. 

She didn’t intend that state of things to continue, 
but she knew better than to appear dissatisfied on 
the very first morning of her residence in Glebe Royal. 
So she commenced to pour out her tea and demolish 
her egg, as if she had never expected to see a more 
luxurious meal. 


A SCARLET SIN, 


59 


CHAPTER VII. 

MAGNETIZING THE MASTER. 

Sir Alan entered the breakfast room rather more 
briskly than usual that morning, for it was not a 
hunting day, and, as a rule, he considered his hunting 
days the only ones worth living. He glanced at the 
table as he passed the threshold, and, seeing only his 
sister . seated in state behind the tea-urn, he ex- 
claimed : 

“ Hullo! Pm not the only late bird this morning, 
I see.” 

“ I don’t understand you, Alan,” replied Miss Chi- 
chester, presenting her ear for the fraternal salute. 
“ I was down punctually at nine o’clock.” 

“I mean Miss What’s-her-name ! — Miss Murray! 
She will surely not wait till Alice has her breakfast ! 
The poor girl will be starved.” 

“ Miss Murray ! ” repeated his sister frigidly — 
“did you expect to see her ? She breakfasts in her 
own room.” 

“ What room ? ” 

“The one on the stairs. I ordered Ruth to lay 
her meals there.” 

“What! in that dismal little hole! Surely she 
would rather take them with us.” 

“ I don’t know what Miss Murray would prefer , 
but I know what is suitable to her position. She can 


6o 


A SCARLET SLAT. 


never have expected to be admitted to the family 
circle.” 

“ And why not ? If she is good enough to be 
Alices companion, surely she is good enough to be 
ours. I never heard of such an indignity. It is a 
positive insult.” 

“ You are very quick to take up arms in this young 
person’s defence. I thought you were altogether 
opposed to her presence in Glebe Royal.” 

“ So I was — quite as much as yourself — but since 
Jolliffe considers her presence necessary to Alice’s 
well-doing, I will not have it turned into a torture. 
The girl’s a lady, and she shall not be treated like a 
servant.” 

“ / shall never treat her as anything else,” said 
Miss Chichester, tossing her head. 

“ Excuse me, Anna, but you will do as you are 
told. You are not the mistress of Glebe Royal, 
remember, and in this instance you must follow the 
cue that Alice gives you.” 

“ I have lived under this roof, the roof which 
sheltered my dear parents for fifty years,” exclaimed 
Miss Chichester, “ and you have never spoken to me 
in such a strain before, Alan.” 

“There may not have been an occasion for it,” 
returned her brother. “And now, will you go and 
ask Miss Murray to join us at the breakfast table, or 
shall we send Humphreys with the message ? ” 

“ I shall not go,” said Miss Chichester. 

“Very well. Then I will go myself,” replied Sir 
Alan as he left the room again. Miss Chichester sat 
behind her tea-urn, paralyzed with indignation. 


A SCARLET SIN". 


61 


“ Baby ” Alan had given her a “ bit of his mind ” 
on several occasions before, but she had never seen 
him so determined in the cause of a perfect stranger, 
especially one whose advent he had so strongly 
deprecated. Meanwhile the baronet had walked 
upstairs to the little room on the landing and knocked 
at the door. 

“ Good-morning, Miss Murray/’ he said on enter- 
ing. “ I have come to ask you if you will join Miss 
Chichester and myself at the breakfast table. There 
has been some stupid mistake about your breakfast 
being laid up here. My sister fancied you would 
prefer a room to yourself, but I don’t think you look 
so unsociable as all that. What do you say ? ” 

“That I am quite of your opinion, Sir Alan,” 
replied Cora Murray, laughing. “ I am not at all 
unsociable. I am a gregarious animal, especially at 
feeding time, and when Lady Chichester does not 
require my attendance, I would greatly prefer taking 
my meals downstairs.” 

“ Then come along at once,” he said gaily, “ for I 
have not commenced my breakfast yet, and it will be 
quite a pleasure to see your bright face at the table.” 

In another minute (to Miss Chichester’s disgust) 
the two had entered the breakfast room together. 
She saluted Miss Murray with a cold and rather 
discourteous bow on meeting, and then, having asked 
if she would take tea or coffee, she relapsed into 
silence, and left her brother and the “ companion ” 
to do all the talking by themselves. And the worst 
of it was, that they did not seem to notice that she 
took no part in the conversation, but chattered on 


62 


A SCARLET SIN. 


every subject that rose to the surface. Sir Alan was 
a great talker when he found anyone sympathetic 
enough to talk to, but his sister’s stoney indifference 
and his wife’s easily provoked fatigue had somewhat 
quelled his powers of late years. Miss Murray, 
having gauged the temperaments of her employers, 
cast off the reticence she had assumed on first 
arrival, and now proved herself able to talk freely, 
yet modestly, on a variety of subjects, amongst 
which, to Sir Alan’s surprise, she touched on hunting, 
as if quite conversant with the sport. 

“You are fond of horses ? ” he inquired. 

“ Who is not, Sir Alan, who is worth anything ? ” 

“ And you can ride ? ” 

“Yes!” 

“ And have you ever hunted ? ” 

“Often!” 

“ O ! this is a surprise,” exclaimed the baronet, at 
home at once on his favorite topic ; “ tell me where 
and when ? ” 

“Ah, Sir Alan, you touch an old wound when 
you ask me that” replied Miss Murray, with clouded 
eyes. “ Don’t forget how circumstances have altered 
with me. They were times that will never return, 
and the less I think of them the better.” 

“You must pardon me if I hurt you,” he said 
apologetically, “but if you are fond of riding, I’ll 
give you a mount any day. I have a lovely little cob 
in my stables, just up to your weight, which must be 
about — let me see” — he added musing, as he scanned 
her rounded figure. 

“Ten stone to an ounce,” she replied smiling, “but 


A SCARLET Sm. 


63 


with due thanks, Sir Alan, you mustn’t talk to me 
about riding,; it is quite out of the question. I 
haven’t even a habit now.” 

“ O ! that can soon be remedied,” he returned con- 
fidently. “ Lady Chichester must have two or three 
in her wardrobe.” 

“Which reminds me that I am here to attend 
upon Lady Chichester, and not to ride to meets,” 
with a modesty which she knew would further her 
cause with both her hearers, “ and so please let us 
talk no more about it.” 

“ But I don’t see why it shouldn’t be managed as 
nicely as possible,” he continued pertinaciously; “ the 
little cob would be just the thing for you. My friend, 
Captain Fauntleroy, generally rides it when he is 
here, but he has just left us, worse luck! and we’re 
not likely to see him again for some time.” 

Miss Murray made no comment on this piece of 
news; indeed she was at the moment looking for 
something under the table, so it is quite doubtful 
whether she even heard it. 

u Let me help you,” said the baronet gallantly ; 
“ have you dropped anything ? ” 

“ Only my serviette. Pray don’t trouble yourself, 
I have already found it,” and she raised her face 
again, which had become rather red from the exertion 
of stooping. 

“ Have you seen Lady Chichester this morning ? ” 
inquired Miss Chichester, breaking the ice for the 
first time. 

“ Not yet,” replied Miss Murray. “ I have inquired 
for her, of course, but have received no summons to 


64 


A SCARLET SIN. 


go to her room. I did not leave her until she was 
fast asleep last night.” 

“ Indeed ! ” remarked Miss Chichester incredulously ; 
“that’s strange, for my sister-in-law generally lies 
awake for hours after retiring.” 

“What charm did you use?” said Sir Alan. 

“ None, Sir Alan, except an attempt to sooth her 
nerves, which are in a very irritable condition. But 
I am usually very successful in calming nervous 
patients. The doctors say I inspire my own vitality 
into them.” 

“You appear to have any amount to spare,” said 
the baronet. 

“Yes. I am very strong.” 

“You are the embodiment of life,” he continued 
admiringly, as they rose from the table. Then he 
stretched himself before the fire, after the manner of 
Englishmen, and said, 

“ I am going my morning round of the stables, Miss 
Murray. Will you come with me, and have a look 
at the little cob ? ” 

“ O no, thank you, Sir Alan. It is quite impos- 
sible. Her ladyship might want me at any moment.” 

“ We can leave word for a messenger to be sent 
after you.” 

“ No, thank you,” she repeated with dignity ; “ it is 
out of the question.” 

And then he left the room and they saw him no 
more. Miss Chichester locked the tea chest with a 
snap, and, pocketing the keys, was about to follow 
her brother. 

“ Do you think ? ” inquired the “ companion ” in a 


A SCARLET SIN. 65 

meek voice, “ that I might venture to go to her lady- 
ship’s room now ? ” 

“ I don’t know, I’m sure,” replied the other 
grumpily. “ I am not even acquainted with the 
duties of a companion. It’s the first time there’s 
been one within the walls of Glebe Royal.” 

“ Well, they don’t consist of going to the stables 
to see Captain — Captain — - What was the name of 
the gentleman Sir Alan alluded to ? ” 

“ Captain Henry Fauntleroy, I suppose you mean.” 

‘“Ah! Captain Henry Fauntleroy’s cob, I’m sure 
of that,” returned Miss Murray steadily. “ Fauntle- 
roy is a pretty name. I think it belongs to a 
Norfolk family.” 

“ I can’t inform you, and, as I have my housekeep- 
ing duties to attend to, I must bid you good-morn- 
ing,” said Miss Chichester, sailing from the room. 

“Yes, the old cat will certainly take a lot of 
magnetizing,” thought Miss Murray as she gazed 
after her, “ and I very much doubt if I ever succeed 
in doing it, for the antagonistic fluid is very strong. 
N'importe! She’s not the first woman in the world 
that has hated me, and yet somehow — I live. So I 
dare say I shall survive all her clumsy sarcasm.” 

Then her face softened a little as she turned it 
towards the window, and looked out upon the glories 
of the park. 

“And so they know Fauntleroy, and there is a 
chance of his coming here at any time. I must 
watch his movements like a lynx. Poor Fauntleroy ! 
I feel as if I could not even meet him, for his sake as 
well as my own. He has never reproached me, but 

5 


66 


A SCARLET S/M 


he is the only man who has ever made me reproach 
myself. If ever I hear of his proximity I will run ten 
miles the other way, and yet I think he cares for me 
too much to betray me.” 

She turned and walked slowly into the hall, where 
she encountered Sir Alan, rather excited, with a bunch 
of autumn violets in his hand. 

“Are you fond of violets, Miss Murray ? ” he ex- 
claimed ; “some ladies like to wear them in front of 
their dress, and these are very sweet. My lodge- 
keeper’s little girl gathered them for me, so I thought 
I would bring them in to you whilst they were fresh.’’ 

“They are my favorite flowers,” she replied as she 
took them from him. “Thank you so much, Sir 
Alan. But I shall not keep them for myself ; I will 
take them at once to Lady Chichester.” And she 
ran lightly upstairs as she spoke. 

“ The good baronet appears to be a little magne- 
tized as well as his wife,” was the thought in her 
mind as she left him, but she appeared as simple as 
a girl as she entered Lady Chichester’s room. 

“ How has your ladyship rested ?*” she inquired 
deferentially as she approached her chair. 

“Wonderfully well, Cora. Better than I have 
done for weeks past, and I feci so refreshed this 
morning. What lovely violets ! ” 

“ Are they not beautiful ? Their perfume fills the 
room, and Sir Alan sent them to your ladyship, and 
wishes to know when the carriage is to be ready to 
take you out.” 

“The carriage!” echoed Lady Chichester with a 
shiver. “ Surely it is too cold to drive this morning,” 


SCARLET SIN. 


67 


“ Not at all. It is only fresh, and will do you all 
the good in the world. Now, dear Lady Chichester, 
remember what the doctor said, how imperatively 
necessary it is for your health that you should go out 
every day.” 

“ I’ve known her ladyship’s constitution since she 
was a baby,” grumbled Jane Wood, “and I never 
knew her take any good from exposing her delicate 
chest to a north wind. It’s as likely to be her death 
as not ” 

“Well, if you think you know better than Dr. 
Jolliffe, will you tell him so next time he comes, and 
request him to give his orders to you instead of to 
me,” retorted Miss Murray, with a determination that 
made the old woman wince, and be silent. 

“ If you are sure it will do me good,” commenced 
Lady Chichester feebly. 

“ I am quite sure of it. 1 have been out on the 
terrace without my hat, and it is quite mild. Let 
us drive in the close carriage, if you like it better 
and take Tennyson with us, and then, if you feel it 
too cold, we will close the windows, and I will read 
to you instead.” 

“ O ! I shall like that ! ” said Lady Chichester with 
alacrity, and half an hour afterwards, the baronet, 
plodding through the stubble, looking after his coveys 
of young birds, was startled by the sound of wheels, 
and glancing up, saw his wife, wrapped in furs, driv- 
ing in an open carriage, with her companion by her 
side, and both women smiling and nodding to him as 
they passed. 

"That girl is certainly working a revolution in the 


68 


A SCARLET SIN. 


household,” he thought as they went by. “To 
imagine Alice out in the open air by noon! It is 
incredible! I suppose Jolliffe was right, and all she 
needed was the incentive. Ah ! ” he ended with a 
sigh, “ if she had only half the spirit and vitalty of 
her companion.” 


4 SCARLET SIN. 


69 


CHAPTER VIII. 

SIR ALAN HAS SINGING LESSONS. 

Dr .JOLLIFFE discreetly kept aloof from Glebe Royal 
for a week, in order to allow the new-comer to settle 
down to her duties ; but when, at the expiration of 
that period, he looked in to see how his new plan 
had succeeded, he was satisfied beyond all his expect- 
ations. He found Lady Chichester with a smile in 
her eye and a tinge of color in her cheek, quite 
eager to tell him where she had been, and what she had 
seen during the last few days, and how good Miss 
Murray had been in amusing and distracting her. 

“ Come ! come ! ” cried the doctor, “ here’s a vast 
improvement already. Your ladyship’s pulse is more 
regular and stronger, and the action of the heart is 
increased. How many fainting fits have you ex- 
perienced since I saw you last ? ” 

“ Only two, doctor, and during the last one I never 
lost consciousness. Cora thinks I was laced rather 
too tight. I feel much easier now.” 

“ And how is your appetite ? ” 

“ Really better, though you know it is bad at th? 
best of times. But Cora thinks of such dainty little 
dishes for me, and has them prepared at such unex- 
pected moments, that I can’t help eating. And she 
always brings me a glass of wine and a sandwich 
before I go out driving, and it seems to keep me up.” 


7o 


A SCARLET SLY. 


“ She knows what is good for you ! And how 
about the sleepless nights ? ” 

“Ah ! Dr. Jolliffe, I am afraid you will laugh, but I 
really think Cora has nearly cured them too. She has 
such a soothing way with her, and she won’t allow 
me to sit up until I am over-tired, and then she makes 
me take another glass of wine and a biscuit, and reads 
by my bedside till I am quite drowsy. And I dare 
say the fresh air I have taken has had a good effect 
on me too, but I don’t lie awake nearly so long as I 
used to do.” 

“ Then the advent of this young lady has really 
turned out a success, Lady Chichester ? ” 

“ A success , doctor ! Why! I don’t know what I 
should do without her even now. I never had any- 
one to look after me as she does. She is so clever, 
and so thoughtful, and so amusing. She sings and 
plays beautifully, and Sir Alan has begun to spend 
his evenings in the drawing-room again now, which 
is such a pleasure to me. And you can’t think how 
accomplished Cora is too. She can ride on horse- 
back, and skate, and dance, and do everything. Sir 
Alan wants her to ride with him sometimes, but she 
won’t leave me.” 

“ Of course not! I should be very much surprised 
if she did. Her object in coming here was to wait 
upon you. But I should like to see this female 
AdmirabCrichton ! Where is she ? ” 

“ I think she must have run away 'in order that we 
might have our talk alone. Please ring the bell, 
doctor, and John will ask her to come down again.” 

In a few minutes Cora Murray, looking very hand' 
some and sparkling, entered the room. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


71 


“ Well ! young lady,” said the doctor, shaking 
hands with her, “ I must congratulate you on the 
change your presence has effected here ! My patient 
is decidedly better, and she says she owes it all to 
you. I think that is something to be proud of.” 

“ I should be proud of it, sir, were I not afraid that 
her ladyship flatters me. She is too good. She has 
interested herself so much on my behalf that it has 
benefited her own health. But I am very glad you 
think her better. ,, 

Lady Chichester had got hold of Miss Murray’s 
hand, and was looking up affectionately into her face 
as she spoke. 

“ Dr. Jolliffe sees a vast improvement in me, Cora, 
and I have been telling him that you must think of 
yourself, as well as of me, and take some rides on 
horseback with Sir Alan. You have been used to 
much more exercise than you get here, I am sure.” 

“ Is that the case ? ” asked the doctor, regarding 
her steadily in the face. 

“ I can’t say that it is not , but there is no neces- 
sity for my riding on horseback. Walking exercise 
serves the purpose just as well, and I have always 
time for that before her ladyship rises. When the 
warm weather sets in I shall be out at six o’clock in 
the morning.” 

“ Ah ! that’s the way to keep in robust health ! 
But if you have been used to a great deal of open air 
exercise, Miss Murray, you cannot neglect the practice 
now, or you may suffer from sitting up at night.” 

“ Now that is just what I said,” exclaimed Lady 
Chichester, “and so I shall get that habit altered 


72 


A SCARLET SIN. 


to fit you at once, Cora, and I shall insist on your 
going out riding with Sir Alan. I should be quite 
miserable if your health suffered from waiting upon 
ine. 

“ That will never do me any harm, Lady Chiches- 
ter,” replied her companion. 

“ Well ! well ! Take care of yourselves and take 
care of each other,” said the doctor as he rose to go. 
“ Miss Murray, I should like to try a new medicine 
with her ladyship. If you wiil accompany me to 
the library, I will write the prescription, and give 
you directions for its being taken.” 

As he sat at the library writing-table, and glanced 
up at the beaming eyes and dark brows that gazed 
at him from the other side, Dr. Jolliffe thought sud- 
denly how much too handsome Cora Murray was 
for a companion. But she was very pleasant to look 
at, all the same, and as his eyes met hers, they told 
her so. 

‘‘Dr. Jolliffe,” she said, bending towards him, “ as 
you have placed me (as it were) in charge of Lady 
Chichester’s health, I think you ought to lot me know 
what is the matter with her.” 

“ She is simply a great invalid.” 

“ She is more than that, sir ! She has a com- 
plication of symptoms that puzzle me. How can I 
guard against danger if I don’t know from which 
quarter it may arise ? ” 

“You’re a very sensible young woman,” sa*'d Dr. 
Jolliffe, “and I think you’re quite fit to be trusted 
with a secret. I am not quite sure what is the 
matter with her ladyship myself.” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


73 


“ But you must have formed a conjecture on the 
subject. Are her lungs affected ? ” 

“ No.” 

“ And her heart ? ” 

“ Yes, the action of the heart is very weak, and 
the whole vitality at a low ebb.” 

“ You detect no organic disease ? ” 

“ None that I can certainly pronounce upon. Her 
symptoms puzzle me more than they do you. Either 
she is the victim of an internal disease, or — well ! I 
will say no more at present. You must be content 
with that.” 

“ Do you think she will live ?” asked Miss Murray, 
seriously. 

“ I will not say what I think, except that she is in 
a very precarious condition, and requires the utmost 
care. What she most needs is strength to go through 
whatever may be before her. Improve her appetite, 
give her plenty of fresh air and induce sleep, and 
she may live for years. But you have begun 
well, Miss Murray, and you have only to go on as 
you have begun.” 

“ You may be sure I will do that” she replied, as 
she took charge of the prescription he had written. 

When dinner was over that evening, and Sir Alan 
made his appearance in the drawing-room, his wife 
attacked him on the subject of Cora’s riding on 
horseback. 

“ Dr. Jolliffe says she must not neglect taking her 
usual exercise, Alan, and she has been used to much 
more than she gets here, and he says she will be ill 
if she stays in the house, and so do persuade her to 


74 


A SCARLET SIN. 


ride for an hour or so every day. She could do it 
before I get up.” 

“ I have already told Miss Murray that my stables 
and my services are at her disposal. ‘ Cock Robin ’ 
will carry her beautifully, and your old saddle, Alice, 
is ready to put on him to-morrow morning, if she 
wishes it.” 

“ Ah ! my old saddle,” said Lady Chichester, with 
a sigh. How long it is since I have seen it, and 
how vexed you used to be with me for my bad riding, 
Alan.” 

“ You were so absurdly timid, my dear, that I was 
always afraid of your meeting with an accident.” 

“ You were always too good to me, my darling. 
But Cora will not be timid, I am sure. I think she 
is as bold as a lion.” 

“ I was put in the saddle almost as soon as I could 
sit up by myself,” replied Miss Murray, smiling, “ so 
there is nothing wonderful in my having overcome 
all fear ! But may I ask if that is a roll of new music 
in your hand, Sir Alan ? ” 

“Not exactly,” replied the baronet, blushing and 
stammering in an unusual manner ; “ the fact is — that 
is, Lady Chichester wished to hear me sing, and so 
I brought some of my songs, to see if I can persuade 
you to play the accompaniments for me.” 

“ Of course I will ! ” replied Cora Murray, whilst 
his wife exclaimed, “ O ! how good of you, dear Alan ! 
I am sure Cora will be delighted with your singing ! 
You can have no idea,” she continued to her com- 
panion, “ what a beautiful voice he has.” 

“ Don’t talk such rubbish, Alice ! I have not sung 


A SCARLET S/M 


1 $ 

for many years, my voice must be as rusty as that of 
an old crow. I am more than half afraid to open my 
mouth before Miss Murray.” 

“ O II know what it is to be out of practice too, 
Sir Alan, and can quite sympathize with you,” said 
Cora, “ but, after singing a few songs, you will soon 
find yourself in voice again. What is your voice, 
baritone or tenor ? ” 

“ Baritone, I believe — such as it is ! ” 

“ Such a useful voice for amateurs,” she said, 
softly, “ you can do anything with it. Which of 
these songs shall I try over for you ? ” 

He chose some simple ballad, and the practicing 
began. Sir Alan Chichester’s singing proved to be 
like that of many amateurs. Naturally, he had a 
good organ, but he had never been taught how to 
use it, and his idea of time was so peculiar as to re- 
quire a great deal of accommodation on the part of 
his accompanist. 

But Miss Murray smoothed over all the difficulties 
in a skillful manner, that sent Lady Chichester into 
raptures over her husband’s singing, and made the 
baronet so pleased with himself that, after his wife 
had retired to rest under the chaperonage of Jane 
Wood, he inquired if her companion would think 
him too troublesome if he asked her to play one or 
two of his songs over again. 

“ Not at all,” she answered. “ Indeed, why should 
you ask the question, Sir Alan ? Surely I am here 
to make myself useful to you, if it is possible, as well 
as to her ladyship.” 

The baronet was leaning on the side of the grand 


76 


A SCARLET S/M. 


piano, and gazing full at her as she spoke. As she 
sat there in her velveteen dress, which just showed a 
glimpse of her creamy throat and bosom and the 
turn of her rounded arm, she was so unlike any 
specimen of womanhood with which he had ever 
been brought into intimate contact before, that the 
sight of her stirred his blood in an almost forgotten 
manner. 

“ But I am so afraid of worrying you,” he answered. 
“ I sing so badly, but — but — when yoti play the 
accompaniment, it is such a pleasure to me, all the 
same.” 

“ And it is a pleasure to me,” said Miss Murray, 
briskly, as she touched the instrument. 

Sir Alan stumbled through another love ballad, 
and then he took to leaning on the piano again, and 
gazing at his accompanist. 

“ And you will really consent to ride with me ? ” 
he inquired presently. 

“ I never said so, Sir Alan ! ” 

“ But you will , I am sure. My wife wishes it, you 
see, and I am certain you will enjoy it. We live in 
a beautiful county, and the drives and rides are full 
of interest. Besides, you must hunt with us. We 
have one of the finest packs in England, and quite a 
number of ladies at the meets. I shall mount you 
on my little hunter ‘ Ariel * for that.” 

“ You are too good to me,” she murmured, though 
she knew all the time that it was not his goodness, 
but the glamour of her fatal eyes that had evoked 
the baronet’s offer. 

“ Not at all ! It will be more pleasure to me than 


A SCARLET Sm. 


77 


to yourself. And about such appointments as you 
may require ! Order them, Miss Murray, and we 
will make it all right on settling day.” 

“ I don’t know how to thank you, Sir Alan,” she 
replied in a low voice, “ but — I feel it ! ” 

Sir Alan was about to reply that he too felt it, 
when their conference was interrupted by the sound 
of a harsh cough. Miss Chichester, having heard her 
sister-in-law go to bed, thought it but right that she 
should come down, and see what was going on in 
the drawing-room, for she had not overcome her 
original dislike to Miss Murray in the slightest degree. 
On the contrary, it seemed to increase as the days 
went on. On discovering her propinquity, Cora 
commenced to play one of Mendelssohn’s “ Songs 
Without Words,” which enabled her to go on talking 
without being overheard, and exasperated the other 
beyond all description. 

“ Lady Chichester has gone up to her own room, 
Miss Murray ! ” she said, in a loud voice, as she 
established herself with her knitting by the fire. 

“ I know it, thank you ! I was here when her 
ladyship retired,” said the companion quickly. 

“ She may be wanting you ! ” 

“ We have agreed that her ladyship is to ring when 
she is ready for my services.” 

Miss Chichester snorted. 

“ I should consider it more becoming if you were 
to quit the drawing-room at the same time as she 
does. I dislike music exceedingly. It makes me 
ill.” 

“ In that case we will close the piano and defer 


73 


A SCARLET S/M 


our practice, Sir Alan, till a more favorable oppor- 
tunity,” replied Miss Murray, as, with a dignified bow, 
she left the room. 

“ What do you mean by speaking to her like that ? ” 
demanded the baronet angrily, as Cora disappeared. 

‘•What do you mean by treating her like a guest, 
instead of a dependent ? ” retorted his sister. 

“ I treat her like a lady, as she behaves, which is 
more than I can say for yourself,” he answered. 

“ O ! of course not ! I saw how it would be from 
the beginning — what with Alice’s weakness and your 
stupidity, you will spoil the girl between you and 
then she will have to leave. She will get too fine for 
her work ! ” 

That is our business, and not yours ! But I 
insist upon your treating her with politeness.” 

And so Miss Chichester found herself worsted, 
which only increased her hatred of the new com- 
panion. 


A SCARLET SILT. 


79 


CHAPTER IX; 

MISS MURRAY IS CALLED AWAY. 

What with the united persuasion of Sir Alan and 
Lady Chichester, it was not many days before Miss 
Murray was to be seen mounted on “ Cock Robin/ ” 
and the skillful manner in which she handled the 
spirited little animal so increased the baronet’s ad- 
miration for her talents, that he became eager to see 
her in the. hunting field. A perfectly fitting habit 
and hat having arrived mysteriously from London, 
she appeared at the next meet, riding by the M. F.’s 
side, and raised a storm of curiosity, malice and 
envy. No dress — except perhaps a pair of tights — 
shows off the lines of a woman’s figure so well as a 
riding habit, and Cora Murray’s figure was her 
strongest point. She could not help seeing the looks 
of admiration directed towards her by the men, and 
the curious glances with which the women succeeded 
them. She was in her glory, and the knowledge 
added an extra sparkle to her flashing eyes. She 
had been working for this from the beginning. All 
her little wiles and graces — her apparent reluctance 
to accept the baronet’s offer — her fears lest she should 
be stepping out of her province by doing so — had 
been so many artful means to attain an end. And 
now she had succeeded. She was placed in a position 


8o 


A SCARLET SIN. 


that must bring her in association with members of 
the best county families, and there was no knowing 
what it might not lead to. All the sportsmen wanted 
to ascertain the name of the handsome girl riding by 
Sir Alan Chichester’s side, for it was so rare an occur- 
rence to see the baronet in familiar intercourse with 
any woman, that the fact alone was counted worthy 
of notice. But Sir Alan did not seem disposed to 
share the spoil with his fellow men. He stuck like 
a leech to Cora’s side, as long as ever it was possible, 
ignoring all the hints thrown out for an introduction 
to her, and only parted from her when (to his dis- 
may) he saw her lissom figure, perched on Ariel, fly- 
ing over hedges, where his sixteen stone of solid 
flesh warned him it would be folly to attempt to 
follow her. Then indeed Sir Alan found himself 
sighing, and wishing he were twenty years younger, 
or that he had met such a woman as Cora twenty 
years before. As she came proudly up to him at 
the death, to receive the brush from his hands, with 
her glowing eyes and cheeks, and her frame trembling 
with the excitement she had gone through, he felt 
as though he had found a companion to sympathize 
with his tastes and pursuits for the first time in his 
life. Ahd as he lifted her from her horse at the 
door of Glebe Royal, when the day’s sport was over, 
he whispered something of the same sort in her ear, 
and told her. he had never enjoyed a run so much 
before. 

“You’re a fool!” said Miss Chichester abruptly to 
her sister-in-law, a few days later, as they watched 


A SCARLET SIN. 


81 


the departure of the baronet and Miss Murray for a 
second day’s sport, “ and Alan’s another ! You’re a 
pair of fools, and I have no patience with you !” 

“ But why f” exclaimed Lady Chichester, turning 
her large pathetic eyes upon the speaker. “What 
have we done Anna, to make you speak so strangely ?” 

“ Why do you let that girl go out hunting, when it 
is her business to sit at home and sort your wools ? 
You might just a3 well bring the cook to lie on the 
sofa in the drawing-room.” 

“O Anna! How can you make such a com- 
parison ? Cora is a lady, any one can see that , 
and if she likes horse exercise why shouldn’t she 
take it ? ” 

“ And leave you alone for a whole day to look after 
yourself? That’s not what Jolliffe sent her here for.” 

“ But she has very little amusement, poor girl, and 
we mustn’t forget she is younger than we are. Young 
people need variety. I was quite glad when she 
consented to go.” 

“Humph! amusement” snorted Miss Chichester; 
“ it strikes me Miss Murray is a young lady who 
knows how to amuse herself.” 

“Well! you wouldn’t grudge her doing it, would 
you, Anna?” said Lady Chichester. 

“ Ah ! it’s not my business — she’s not my com- 
panion, thank heaven,” replied her sister-in-law; 
“ she’d soon see the outside of Glebe Royal if she 
were. But what are you going to do all day without 
her ? Who will drive with you and read to you, and 
carry your messages to and fro ? ” 

“ I don’t know,” said Lady Chichester, with a 

6 


82 


A SCARLET SIN , . 


plaintive look. “ I shall miss her terribly, but I am so 
much better now that I must not be selfish and keep 
her always by my side. Perhaps old Jane will bring 
her work into the drawing-room, and — and — would 
you drive out with me, Anna ? ” she added timidly 

“ I ! No, thank you ! I hate driving ! The rock- 
ing of a carriage reminds me of a boat at sea. / am 
going for a good ten-mile walk into the country.” 

“ Never mind,” returned Lady Chichester, gently, 
whilst a faint flush mantled in her cheek, “ I shall be 
very well amused with my books until dear Alan 
and Cora return.” And she walked slowly back to 
the sofa as she spoke. 

Miss Chichester regarded her with a look of ill- 
disguised contempt, and then turned on her heel to 
seek her own devices, whilst the unselfish little lady 
resigned herself to a day of solitude, in order to 
promote the pleasure of the two people she loved 
best in the world. 

When Sir Alan and Cora Murray returned from 
their sport, she received them with a genuine welcome, 
and listened with pleasurable excitement to the ac- 
count of their run. 

“ And now you must have a cup of tea with me 
before you change your habit, Cora ! John will bring 
it in a minute. And here is a letter for you, dear, 
that came by the afternoon post.” 

Miss Murray tore open the envelope and ran over 
the contents. 

“ What a nuisance ! ” she exclaimed. 

“ What is it ? ” asked Lady Chichester. 

w Only my guardian is about to leave England for 


A SCARLET SIN. 


83 


awhile, and wishes to see me before his departure. 
Would your ladyship be able to spare me for a few 
days, to run up to London ? ” 

“ Spare you y Cora ? O ! how can I ? What shall 
I do without you ? But still, if it is necessary, I 
mustn’t be too selfish. Is your guardian going away 
for long ? ” 

“ No, only a trip abroad — but he wants to see me 
before he goes. He is my only relation, you know, 
and he is foolish enough to be — well” — with an arch 
glance at the baronet — “ rather fond of me.” 

“ But 7ce are fond of you too,” said Lady Chiches- 
ter coaxingly. 

“ I will not go unless you can really spare me/’ 
replied Miss Murray, toying with her cup of tea. 

“ We shall never be able to do that, Miss,” inter- 
posed Sir Alan, gallantly. 

“ I would promise to return on the third day,” 
replied Miss Murray. 

“ Well! I suppose we shall have to make up our 
minds to it,” said her ladyship. “ When must it be ? ” 

“ O ! we will talk of that after dinner,” exclaimed 
her companion, rising. “ I have really not half mas- 
tered the contents of my guardian’s letter.” 

But as she was on her way upstairs, she felt a hand 
placed on her arm in the half light, and heard Sir 
Alan’s voice say : “You will not go, Cora — will you ? ” 
and she answered, “ Not i(you wish it.” 

She looked handsomer than ever that evening as 
they sat down to dinner, for Lady Chichester had so 
far recovered her strength as to be able to sit at the 
table. Sir Alan and Miss Murray were full of their 


84 


A SCARLET SIN. 


day’s sport, and the adventures they had met with 
in the field, and as they laughed over their joint re- 
miniscences, the guardian’s request seemed to be 
entirely forgotten — indeed, Cora joined eagerly in 
the discussion of plans for the next few days. But 
before the meal was concluded, the butler brought 
Sir Alan one of those yellow envelopes that betoken 
a telegram. 

“ No bad news, I hope,” said Lady Chichester, 
anxiously — poor woman ! the least suspense had the 
power to make her tremble like an aspen leaf — “ the 
sight of a telegram always makes me so nervous.” 

“ Nonsense ! you should fight against it,” said Miss 
Chichester roughly. 

“ Bad news ! Alice ? ” replied her husband cheerily. 
“ Not at all ! The very best of news ! Dear old 
Hal is coming back to us ! He has obtained a week’s 
leave before the regiment sails for Gibraltar. Dear 
old Hal ! I wish he would sell out, and settle down 
altogether at Glebe Royal. I am sure you will get 
on with him, Miss Murray. He loves all active, out- 
door sports, and is as keen after hunting as your- 
self.” 

“ But who is he ? ” asked Cora, smiling at her host’s 
enthusiasm. 

“ Why ! my greatest chum, Henry Fauntleroy — a 
captain in the Queen’s 99th Tartans. Such a 
thoroughly good-hearted fellow ! Have I not men- 
tioned his name to you before ? ” 

“ O ! yes ! several times ! And is he to be here 
to-morrow ? ” 

“ But only for two days — worse luck ! He must 


A SCARLET SIN. 


85 


spend a little time with his own family. But you 
will see him long enough to find out how nice he is. 
He will cut us all out, Miss Murray.” 

“ Do you think so ? But I may not be here.” 

“ I thought you had given up the idea of visiting 
London/’ said the baronet, with a crestfallen air. 

u I am going to talk it over with Lady Chichester 
after dinner,” replied Cora discreetly. 

When she began to talk it over, the reasons for her 
going to London without any delay appeared to in- 
crease tenfold. Before, she had been rather irre- 
solute ; now, she was quite decided. Her guardian 
was her uncle and best friend — she owed everything 
in life to him — and she could not think of allowing 
him to leave the country without saying farewell. 
He was in delicate health too, and might never return. 
In fact, when Lady Chichester attempted to reason 
her out of the project, Miss Murray declared emphati- 
cally that she would rather throw up her situation 
than be guilty of such a piece of ingratitude. This 
clinched the matter at once. 

“O Cora!” exclaimed her ladyship, “how could 
you imagine that we would be so ungrateful as 
to place a barrier in the way of your duty ! And 
after all you have done for me, too ! I should be 
making you a bad return. Pray go, dear, as soon 
as you like, and return when you think fit. I shall 
be only too glad to see you again, but I will not ask 
you to come back a single day before your guardian 
is willing to part with you.” 

“ O ! as for that, dear Lady Chichester, he would 
keep me with him always, if he could, but I have an 


86 


A SCARLET S/N. 


independent spirit, and will not eat his bread whilst 
I can earn my own. Still — he is my father’s brother, 
and I owe him more than I can ever repay ; and so, 
as you kindly give me leave, I shall go up to town 
by an early train to-morrow.” 

When the baronet appeared he tried hard to make 
Miss Murray alter her decision, or even put off her 
journey for another day, but she was resolute, and 
the next morning (to Miss Chichester’s intense dis- 
gust) he prepared to drive her to the station himself 
in his dogcart. His sister stood at the window watch- 
ing their departure, with her long nose high in the 
air, and as they drove out of the gates Cora remarked 
to her charioteer, “ there’s one person who would 
lather see my back than my face.” 

“ Do you mean my sister ? ” 

“ I do. Have you not observed her dislike to me ? 
Why, it is evident ! ” 

“ I think she is jealous, Cora, as well she may be, 
of your talents and your beauty. What woman is 
not jealous of them ? You have set Glebe Royal in 
a flame.” 

“ Except dear Lady Chichester ! She is too good 
to be jealous of anybody ! ” 

“ Ah ! my poor wife ! But she has been used for 
so long to think of nothing but her own ailments, 
that she seems to have lost the ordinary instincts of 
her sex. I am very unfortunately situated, Cora. 
My wife is nothing but a burden to me. She has 
neither power nor energy to keep up the prestige of 
our race.” 

“ She may regain them, Sir Alan ! ” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


87 


“ Never ! I am convinced that to her life’s end she 
will be a hopeless invalid. And your peculiar bright- 
ness and vitality seem to make the contrast still more 
distressing. Poor, poor Alice ! ” 

“ Well, Lady Chichester has an alleviation to her 
troubles at all events, Sir Alan, in a good and faith- 
ful husband,” said Miss Murray. 

The baronet winced. 

“Yes. I have been faithful to her, Heaven knows. 
For twenty years I have never uttered a word of love 
to any other woman. And my heart has been as 
faithful as my lips. But now — what shall I say now, 
Cora ? ’ 

“ I don’t know ; ” she whispered, with downcast 
eyes. 

“ Nor I either,” he replied, pulling himself together ; 
“ but if it were the truth I am afraid it would not be 
very satisfactory. But here we are at the station. 
Woa! mare! steady — steady! That’s it!” and 
throwing the reins to his groom Sir Alan assisted 
Miss Murray to alight. 

“ Come back soon” were the last words he whis- 
pered to her as he held her hand in a farewell grasp, 
“and remember there is someone at Glebe Royal who 
prefers your face to your back.” 

“ Write and tell me all about your friend’s arrival, 
and exactly how long he intends to stay with you, 
and I will try and return in time to catch a sight of 
him,” was her reply. 


88 


A SCARLET SIN % 


CHAPTER X. 

CAPTAIN FAUNTLEROY’S SUSPICIONS. 

When Captain Fauntleroy arrived, his friend found 
that his chief reason for a visit to Glebe Royal was 
to ask his advice on the knotty question of whether 
he should retire from the army or not. He was a 
man who greatly disliked foreign service, and a rich 
godfather from whom he had expectations had 
offered to make him an annual allowance if he would 
remain in England. But Fauntleroy was of active 
habits, and felt he could not live a life of idleness, at 
the same time that he would not have sufficient 
money to go about and enjoy himself. So he had 
come in his perplexity to Sir Alan. 

“ Stop at home, old fellow, by all manner of means,” 
cried the baronet heartily ; “ we’ll find you some 
appointment, never fear, or, what is better, an heiress, 
with whom you can settle down near Glebe Royal. 
I’ve been breaking my heart over the prospect of 
losing you. Marry, Hal! get hold of some woman 
with money, that’s my advice, and cut the service 
altogether.” 

Fauntleroy’s brow contracted as if with pain. 
“ Don’t talk like that, Alan. I’ve told you already 
that I shall never marry. This is simply a question 
of whether I can live on my half-pay and the income 
my godfather proposes to allow me. If I can keep 


A SCARLET SIN. 89 

a couple of hunters on it, my mind is made up, but I 
could not give up hunting for any man alive.” 

“ Of course you couldn’t. I was ta'king of your 
love of it only the other day to Miss Murray, and 
saying how thoroughly you and she would agree 
upon the subject.” 

“ Miss Murray! Is that Alice’s companion ?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ But what can she know of hunting ? ” 

“Why, my boy, she’s one of the most splendid 
horsewomen I ever met. She rides straight as a 
dart. She’s the admiration of the whole field. I’ve 
been mounting her on Ariel, but I think I shall let 
her try Rochet. I believe she could manage any- 
thing.” 

Captain Fauntleroy smiled. 

“It seems strange to hear of a ‘ companion ’ hunt- 
ing. I don’t know why it should, but I suppose one 
generally imagines them to spring from a class too 
poor for luxuries.” 

“ But Miss Murray has been used to a very 
different position. Her family was very rich, but 
they have come down in the world. It is sad for 
her, poor girl, but she bears it bravely.” 

“And she is so accomplished, Henry,” chimed in 
Lady Chichester; “she sings and plays beautifully. 
I wish you could have seen her. It is such a disap- 
pointment to me that she had to go to London just 
at this time. I want you and Cora to be friends.” 

“ So you have arrived at calling her by her Christian 
name, Alice ? ” 

“ O dear, yes. You don’t know what she has done 


90 


A SCARLET SIN, 


for me by her kindness and attention. I owe her a 
great deal. Don’t you see how much better I am, 
Henry ? I even walk a little now in the morning 
when the weather is fine. Her society has done me 
more good than all the doctor’s physic. Hasn’t it, 
dear Alan ? ” 

“ It has indeed, Alice.” 

“And she is so pretty too, Henry. She has the 
loveliest dark eyes, and such a sweet smile. I am 
sure you would admire her.” 

“ I don’t know. I prefer fair women to dark.” 

“ But you couldn’t help liking Cora. She is so 
clever and entertaining. O Alan ! I have thought 
of a capital plan.” 

“ What is that, my dear ? ” 

“ Henry shall marry Cora. Wouldn’t it be delight- 
ful, and then they should both live at Glebe Royal 
with us. How I wish it could come true.” 

Fauntleroy only laughed at the wasted display of 
energy with which her ladyship clasped her little 
hands together as she gave utterance to the idea, but 
her husband appeared to be unnecessarily annoyed 
by it. 

“ Don’t talk such nonsense,” he said sharply, “ you 
might be a child of ten years old. You have heard 
Hal say over and over again that he never intends 
to marry, and as to Cora, I mean Miss Murray, I 
should hardly think she was a woman to choose a 
husband in a hurry.” 

Lady Chichester’s meek eyes filled with tears. 

“It was only a joke,” she said deprecatingly. 

“A very unbecoming joke in my opinion. Please 


A SCARLET SW. 


9i 


don’t repeat it,” he answered curtly as he turned 
away. Alice left her seat, and, going to the further 
end of the drawing-room, commenced turning over 
the contents of a drawer, whilst the baronet con- 
tinued his conversation with his friend. 

Presently her plaintive voice was raised to attract 
her husband’s notice. 

“ Alan, dear! ” 

“ Well ! ” 

“ I can’t find Cora’s photograph. Have you taken 
it ? ” 

“Taken it? What the d 1 should I take it 

for?” 

“Don’t be angry, dear. I only thought you might 
have done so. But where can it be, then ? I am 
sure I put it in this drawer.” 

“ What do you want it for ? ” 

“To show to Henry. I want him to see what a 
handsome girl she is.” 

“ Nonsense! Don’t bother Hal about such trifles. 
What can he care if your companion is handsome or 
ugly. It’s no affair of his. Come back and lie down 
on your sofa, or we shall be having you so tired that 
you cannot sit up at dinner.” 

“ Does Alice actually appear at the dinner table ? 
That is good news ! ” exclaimed Captain Fauntleroy. 

“O! yes! she has made wonderful strides since 
Miss Murray took her in hand,” said the baronet. 
“ But I don’t suppose it will be of any permanent 
use,” he added in a lower tone, and to his friend’s 
mind a very indifferent one. 

Lady Chichester failed to find the photograph, but 


92 


A SCARLET SIN, 


she continued to talk of her young companion’s 
mental and personal beauties, until Fauntleroy won- 
dered how such a rara avis had ever been allowed 
by the world of men to be the architect of her 
own fortunes. He was honestly pleased, however, 
to be able to conduct Lady Chichester to the dinner 
table after so long an interval, and to observe that 
she really seemed stronger and more cheerful than 
she had been for years. But when the ladies had 
retired, and he hastened to congratulate his old friend 
on the change of affairs, he fancied again that Sir 
Alan was strangely indifferent to the subject. 

“ Let me'wish you joy, old fellow,” he commenced 
as soon as they were alone ; “ your dear wife is 
decidedly better. She seems to me to have taken 
out a new lease of life. It is quite wonderful to see 
her sitting at table and eating like other people.” 

“I don’t suppose it will last, Hal. Jolliffe seems 
to think she has some internal complaint. I should 
not be surprised to hear any day she was on the sofa 
again.” 

*• O ! you mustn’t look at things in that gloomy 
light, Alan ! Of course I can understand that the 
matter is one of such vital importance to you that 
you are almost afraid to hope too much, still, anyone 
can see the improvement in Alice’s health. It is 
palpable. Had she any organic disease, she would 
grow steadily worse. Jolliffe must be mistaken.” 

“ I don’t know why he should be. He is a very 
clever doctor.” 

“ But why then doesn’t he name the disease she 
suffers from ? ” 


A SCARLET SIN , . 


93 


<£ He says he is not prepared to do so just yet, but 
will give me his decision in the course of a few 
weeks.” 

“But the suspense must be intolerable to you. 
Why not send for a specialist from London ? ” 

“ Because I have no faith in any of them doing her 
any good, Hal. Alice has been like this for years, 
and she never will be any better. That’s my belief.” 

“ But she is better ! I can see that without any 
medical knowledge. She has lost her apathy in a 
considerable degree.” 

“Ah! that is Miss Murray’s doing! She is a girl 
with an enormous amount of vitality and energy, and 
she infuses it unconsciously into every one with 
whom she is brought into contact. Were she to 
leave us, I believe Alice would very quickly sink iqto 
her old state of inactivity again.” 

“Then I don’t wonder at your not wanting to part 
with her, even for me , ” replied Fauntleroy laughing. 
But though he laughed outwardly, he felt grave. 
Something was altered in Sir Alan Chichester as 
well as in his wife, though he would have been 
puzzled to say what it was. After dinner, some 
business connected with the estate took the baronet 
to his private sitting room, and Fauntleroy, pipe in 
hand, accompanied him. Webster, the bailiff, had 
to be admitted to a conference concerning a dispute 
over a chandler’s bill, and as Sir Alan hastily turned 
over the papers and receipts in a drawer of his writ- 
ing-table, Fauntleroy caught sight of a photograph. 
He thought nothing of it at the time, but when the 
baronet was compelled to accompany the bailiff to 


94 


A SCARLET SIN, 


the stables for a few minutes and left him there, with 
the drawer open, idle curiosity alone impelled him to 
take up the photograph and examine it. It repre- 
sented a young woman of perhaps two or three and 
twenty, sitting in a careless attitude with her arms 
thrown back, and her hands clasped above her head. 
Her large eyes were gazing upwards, and her profile 
and figure were both clearly lined against the artistic 
background. As Fauntleroy caught sight of the 
picture he started violently, and when Sir Alan 
re-entered the room he found him gazing at it as if 
he were spell-bound. As the baronet discovered his 
occupation he also started and colored, much after 
the fashion of his friend. 

“ Hullo ! Hal,” he tried to say indifferently, “ what 
have you got there ? ” 

Fauntleroy answered the question with another. 

“ Alan ! ” he exclaimed, “who is this ? ” 

“That! By Jove! that’s the photograph Alice 
was looking for. Where did you find it ? In my 
drawer ? She must have put it there herself. I 
think her memory gets worse every day.” 

“ But, Alan, who is it ? Do you know the original ? ” 
“What! Smitten already? Of course I know 
her ! That’s Miss Murray, my wife’s companion ! ” 

“ Murray ! Murray!” repeated Fauntleroy, in a 
puzzled tone, “this is Miss Murray .” 

“ Certainly ! What do you .think of her ? Though 
that photo doesn’t do her justice. She is really a 
glorious looking creature.” Then he added, as 
though afraid he had said too much, “ I wish Alice 
wouldn’t litter my table drawers with her rubbish! 
I hate to have women messing about my things.” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


95 


Captain Fauntleroy had recovered himself by this 
time. 

“Where did you meet with this — this young 
lady ? ” he inquired. 

“ I had nothing to do with it. Old Jolliffe recom- 
mended that Alice should have a companion, and 
his sister-in-law sent Miss Murray down. But she 
has proved to be a lucky find for us. Alice is quite 
devoted to her.” 

“ And of course you know her antecedents.” 

“What do you mean?” exclaimed the baronet 
firing up. 

“ Nothing but what I say. I suppose Miss Mur- 
ray is an undoubted gentlewoman. Murray is a 
good name. Perhaps you know her family ? ” 

“ I know no one but herself, but Dr. Jolliffe ’s 
sister ascertained all that was necessary. And if you 
had seen her, you would never ask another question 
on the subject.” 

“ I wish I had seen her, as she seems to be such a 
fascinating young woman. Perhaps I may still. 
When does she return to Glebe Royal ? ” 

“ I don’t know. Alice can doubtless inform you,” 
replied the baronet, who seemed to have taken a 
sulky fit. “Meanwhile, if you’re done with that 
photograph, I’ll lock it up again.” 

“ I thought it was Alice’s property. Shall I take 
it to her ? ” asked Fauntleroy quietly. 

“Just as you like,” replied Sir Alan, and he shut 
the drawer with a bang and put the keys in his 
pocket. 

Captain Fauntleroy carried off the photograph of 


9 6 


A SCARLET SIN, 


Cora Murray, but he forgot to deliver it to Lady 
Chichester. On the contrary, he took it up to his 
own room and sat for a long time contemplating it 
before he went to rest. 

“ Cora Murray ! ” he thought, “ Cora Murray ! Is 
is possible you can be one and the same with 
Charlotte Mapleson ? You must be! There cannot 
be two women so exactly similar in the world. But 
how have you come here ? And what has made you 
choose the unsophisticated life of a lady’s ‘ com- 
panion ? ’ No wonder that you can ride to the 
admiration of the county, and sing and dance and 
play. I wonder what there was that you could not 
do in the old days. And where can your ‘guardian ’ 
be ? That brute who quenched all my hopes in the 
most devilish manner that ever turned a lover to a 
fiend. O Lotta ! how much you have to answer 
for ! ” 

He bowed his head for a moment on his hands, as 
if overcome by the recollections engendered by her 
name, but when he raised it again his face was calm. 

“ I must see her,” he thought, “ by hook or by 
crook. I must ascertain, before I leave England, if 
she is living the life she ought to do, as the companion 
of that pure, innocent-minded creature, Alice Chi- 
chester. And if not — well, whatever it costs me, I 
must expose her for the sake of my old friendship 
for Alan. If she has heard my name, as no doubt 
she has, I don’t wonder at her being called away to 
London just as I am about to visit Glebe Royal. 
And she will not come back either whilst I am here. 
I will say good-bye to them on the day I first in- 


A SCARLET STM. 


97 


tended, as if it were for good and all, and then, if 
it is in any way possible, I will return for a few hours 
without givingthem any notice, and see if I can catch 
her unawares. Even if I spare her the disgrace of 
exposure, I must satisfy myself that it is she , and that 
she will behave herself properly whilst she is here.” 

And with this resolution, Captain Fauntleroy was 
fain to rest content. 


7 


9 8 


A SCARLET SIN. 


CHAPTER XI. 

THE GUARDIAN AND TRUSTEE. 

Meanwhile, Miss Murray, having reached the end 
of her journey in safety, drove straight to a quiet 
hotel in Jermyn street, where she asked to be shown 
the private apartments of Mr. Masham, She was 
confronted, as she entered them, by a business-look- 
ing, middle-aged man, who was seated at a table 
covered with papers and engaged with correspon- 
dence. 

“Well, Jack,” she said familiarly, but not affection- 
ately, as they found themselves alone, “ and so I’ve 
come, you see. Now, is it a true bill that you are 
going to leave England, or only a ruse to get me up 
here ? ” 

She threw her hat and mantle on the sofa as she 
spoke, and going to the mirror smoothed her ruffled 
hair with both her hands, and examined her general 
appearance critically as though she felt quite at 
home. 

“ It’s a true bill enough,” replied the man, as he 
rose and stood beside her, “ and what's more, it’s a 
deuced unpleasant one. Young Perry has committed 
suicide ! ” 

Miss Murray turned round sharply and regarded 
him. Her face had become very pale, and her eyes 
had a frightened look in them. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


99 


“ What ! ” she said under her breath. 

“ It’s the truth, my dear. The young fool has shot 
himself, and some of your letters have been found 
upon him. His people are wealthy, and will cer- 
tainly make a stir about the matter, and, as my name 
may be implicated, I have been warned to keep out 
of the way. So I start for the Brazils to-morrow 
evening. It will only be anticipating my departure 
by a few weeks, and under your new name you will 
be safe enough. But I would not trust the news to 
paper. I felt it would be safer to let you know by 
word of mouth, though there is no chance of its 
affecting you now.” 

But Miss Murray’s lips were still white from the 
shock she had received, and she could only murmur : 

“Shot himself ! George Perry! O! what fools 
men are ! ” 

“ What fools you women make them you mean, 
Lotty,” said Mr. Masham. “ I warned you about this 
particular case, you remember, on more than one 
occasion. I told you the young fellow was ultra- 
sensitive, and took all you said in earnest. I know 
he confidently expected to marry you.” 

At that her lip curled. 

“ To marry me ! What nonsense ! A lad of twenty 
without a shilling of his own to depend on. My dear 
Jack, you make the unfortunate creature out a greater 
fool than he was.” 

“ He loved you, my dear. He couldn’t have given 
a greater proof of his folly than that.” 

“Thank you. But he has, at all events, been a 
fool in good company. And so he has gone, poor 
fellow ! When did it happen ? ” 


100 


A SC A RLE! SIN. 


“ Last Monday. He went to bed apparently as 
usual, and was found in the morning with his brains 
blown out. Forster wired the news at once, and I 
wrote to you. But, as I said before, you need not 
be the least uneasy about the matter. Only I 
thought I should like to see you before I started, and 
hear from your own lips how you are getting on at 
Glebe Royal.” 

“ First rate. They make a regular pet of me. I 
have my own riding horse, and hunt three times a 
week, and Lady Chichester says she doesn’t know 
what she would do without me.” 

“ You have turned saint for her benefit, I suppose.” 

“Not quite that, but of course I am intensely 
proper, and read to her, and write her letters, and 
arrange her needlework, as if I had done nothing else 
all my life. She is a feeble little woman, without a 
will of her own, and I have magnetized her to sleep, 
each night, until she clings to me like a child to its 
mother.” 

“And the baronet — what of him ? ’ 

Miss Murray laughed. 

“ Well! I think he is pretty well magnetized too.” 

“ Ah ! well, don’t go too far this time. Remember 
your bread depends on it, and don’t have a repetition 
of young Perry’s case for heaven’s sake.” 

“Why do you keep on alluding to young Perry ? ” 
she said frowning. “/ can’t help it, if men will fall in 
love with me. Perhaps you would like me never to 
speak to one of the sex again. O ! by the way, talk- 
ing of lovers, who do you think has turned up at 
Glebe Royal ? Henry Fauntleroy.” 

Mr. Masham whistled. 


A SCARLET SIN, 


IOI 


“By Jove! What did he say to you ? ” 

“ I’ve not seen him, my dear. Pas si bete . He’s 
there now, or was to be, and directly I heard he was 
coming, I took the next train to London. It appears 
he is one of Sir Alan Chichester’s oldest friends.” 

“ Then they’ll tell him you are at Glebe Royal.” 

“ How can he -recognize me under the name of 
Cora Murray ? He only knew me as Charlotte 
Mapleson. Besides, he is only there for a couple of 
days, to say good-bye before sailing with his regi- 
ment for- Gibraltar. It is lucky for me he has no 
chance of making a longer stay.” 

“ I don’t know that,” replied Masham, thought- 
fully. “ Henry Fauntleroy was very much attached to 
you in the old days, and I expect that with a little 
of your feminine finesse you could soon make it right 
with him again now. You know, Lotty, that, though 
you are very handsome and very clever, you are no 
longer a girl, and a respectable marriage is the proper 
ending of all your sex.” 

“What a pity you didn’t think of that yourself a 
long time ago,” she said with a sneer. 

Masham shrugged his shoulders. He was a stout, 
broad-made man, with grizzled hair and a florid 
complexion, not at all handsome, and rather “ horsey ” 
in appearance, but with a shrewd eye, and some 
amount of humor in his composition. 

“ It was, wasn’t it, my dear,” he answered quaintly, 
“ but I should never have been a good enough match 
for you. I was only the lever to place you in the 
position to make one, which you would have done, 
long ago, had you not been so fastidious. But with 


102 


A SCA/HLET SIN. 


regard to Captain Fauntleroy, don’t you think you 
could manage him now ? ” 

“ He is not worth the attempt. He has no more 
money now than he had when he was at Plymouth. 
I have heard Lady Chichester say he has nothing but 
his pay. Besides I have not the same faith in my 
powers that you have. Fauntleroy heard a great 
deal too much — thanks to your fear that he should 
take me from you — and I should not think he was 
the man to patch up a broken faith easily.” 

“ Still, your bodily presence is very fascinating, 
Lotty, and you might try. I should like to see you 
happily married.” 

“ Thanks again — for nothing. When I do marry, 
it will be to please myself and not you. But I can 
foresee a much better prospect looming in the future. 
Lady Chichester is in her last illness.” 

“ Dear me. Is that really the case ? ” 

“ I am sure of it. The old doctor won’t say so 
decidedly, because, as you know, these medical men 
always hold out hope to the last, especially with a 
lingering case. But he has confided to me that he 
believes her to have an internal complaint, and all 
her symptoms point to it. She is a regular invalid, 
passes half her time in bed, and can hardly eat or 
drink sufficient to keep her alive. She has picked 
up wonderfully since I went there, but I can see that 
every exertion she makes is too much for her, and, 
before long, she will lie on her sofa again all day, as 
she used to do.” 

“ And is the baronet very devoted, Lotty ? ” 

“To his wife — do you mean — or to me? Well, 


A SCARLET SIN. 


I03 


he would be very devoted indeed, if I let him, but I 
won’t. I intend to be very reticent, almost repulsing 
towards him whilst Lady Chichester lives, and attend 
closely upon her, and then — when Sir Alan wants a 
second wife, which won’t be long. Nous verrons ! ” 

“ Is he an attractive man ? ” 

“ So, so,” replied Miss Murray with an expressive 
gesture. “ I suppose most women would call him 
handsome, but you know I am not easily satisfied. 
He is about fifty years of age, tall and good-looking, 
very talkative and very excitable. I see I am rather 
a revelation to him, and you men will go mad after 
any novelty. He has been a good boy all his life, 
and stuck close to his nonentity of a wife, and a most 
unpleasant maiden sister, with the foot of an elephant 
and the moustache of a grenadier. A woman be 
tween the two, who unites brains and character with 
a fair amount of youth and beauty, is something 
which he has never met with before. And so he 
runs after me like a calf after a cow.” 

“ And the money ? ” 

“ O ! they have lots of money and no children. 
That’s where the shoe pinches. And they belong to 
one of the oldest families in the county too. Lady 
Chichester never goes out anywhere, but the big 
wigs call constantly to ask after her health. And 
Glebe Royal is a magnificent estate. I should say 
they must be worth at least ten thousand a year, 
perhaps more.” 

“It will be a grand thing if you jump into it, 
Lotty.” 

“I mean to jump into it, in due course Qf time. 


104 


A SCARLET SIN. 


But you must have patience, and let me play my 
cards my own way. To hurry matters would be to 
ruin my future chances, and as I don’t care a pin for 
the man, I’ve no temptation to do that.” 

“ Did you ever care for anybody , Lotty ? ” 

“ Perhaps ! But it is not anyone you have sus- 
pected, or that I shall ever meet again. The world 
judges women very hardly, when it says we have no 
hearts. We all have hearts, but some of us have 
buried them out of sight, and don’t care to remember 
even where they lie. But to return to our subject. 
Sir Alan is hooked — don’t make any mistake about 
that ; but the landing must depend entirely on time.” 

“ How long is his wife likely to last?” 

“ That I can’t say, but if the doctor is right, and 
she has an internal disease, she will sink very 
rapidly, for she has no strength to bear up against 
its inroads. I can see he is secretly alarmed about 
her, though he won’t let the family see it. However, 
it must be settled one way or another soon.” 

“ But should she recover ? ” 

“Don’t bother me with your suppositions, Jack. 
She won't recover. You may take my word for it, 
but should a miracle be performed on her behalf, 
well, there are as good fish in the sea as ever came 
out of it. You should see the members of our hunt — 
squires, and lords, and sons of lords, and I might 
have my pick of the lot, if Sir Alan were not so 
jealous that he will not introduce anyone to me 
unless he is absolutely obliged. Ah ! man ami , I 
have the ball at my feet now, believe me. and I mean 
to kick it.” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


Io 5 

“I hope to goodness you will,” replied Masham, 
“for I’m in such terribly low water I may never 
return to England, and I should like to hear you 
were comfortably settled, Lott}'.” 

“At anybody’s expense but your own, Jack ! ” she 
replied sarcastically. “ I quite believe that, old boy.” 

“ I don’t see any need to sneer, Lotty. Whenever 
I’ve made a haul, you’ve had your share of it, and a 
good big share too, as you well know, and it would 
have gone on the same to the end if you’d only kept 
true to me. But there are some things a man can’t 
stand, however fond he may be of a woman.” 

“ O ! bar sentiment for heaven’s sa*k'e, Jack. You 
know I never took it kindly in the old days, and I’m 
not likely to begin now, when you’re fifty, and it’s 
over. Let’s bury it, and have done with it ! You 
have no more money, and I — well, my interest in 
you is pretty well exhausted. Let’s talk of some- 
thing pleasanter.” 

“ All right. Do you make: any stay here ? ” 

“I promised to return on the third day. But not 
unless I hear that Fauntleroy is well off the premises. 
He might spoil everything just at this moment.” 

“ How do you expect to receive the news ? ” 

“ Sir Alan said he would write to-morrow.” 

“I see! Well, what do you purpose to do this 
evening ? ” 

“ Anything, so long as it is not compromising. I 
can’t afford to compromise myself at this juncture. 
We had better go to the theatre, and sup here after- 
wards. But for heaven’s sake let us enjoy ourselves. 
You’re a first-rate companion, Jack, when you leave 


io6 


A SCARLET SIN. 


sentiment behind you. You ought to know by this 
time what a wishy-washy, worthless thing it is.” 

“Yes, when a woman has grown tired of it.” 

“That’s just it, and I have grown tired of it. It’s 
no use at all except as a means to an end, and our 
end was accomplished ages ago.” 

Mr. Masham answered nothing, but he looked at 
the handsome creature who stood with one foot on 
the fender, excitedly addressing him, with a sigh. 
He had no wish to renew the past, but he had not 
quite ceased to regret it, although he knew that 
Charlotte Mapleson was a woman without a heart, 
and with very little conscience. But she was beauti- 
ful, and when has virtue ever had the same power 
over men as beauty ? 

The meekest and purest spirit upon earth has no 
chance against a flashing eye, a dimpled chin and a 
seductive mouth. No woman ever knew her power 
better than Charlotte Mapleson, and though she had 
been unpleasant and almost insulting to this man, 
she atoned for it so amply afterwards that he waited 
on her pleasure for the rest of the day as if he had 
been a subject, and she a queen, and was almost happy 
in doing so. The following morning brought her a 
letter from Sir Alan Chichester, not by any means a 
familiar one, for the baronet was too sensible to 
compromise either her or himself, but a few ordinary 
lines to ask her to return on the third £ ./ as she had 
promised, as Captain Fauntleroy’s time was very 
limited, and he could not possibly remain at Glebe 
Royal over Thursday. 

“ That decides me,” said Miss Murray, “ I shall not 
return until Friday.” 


A SCARLET S/M 


107 


“Upon my word, Lotty, I sometimes think you 
would be wiser to meet the man, and have it out with 
him.” 

“ And why, my mentor ? ” 

“ Because, what can he say of you after all ? You 
may have flirted with him-^-and that’s an open 
question — but no one can blame you for not marry- 
ing him. If you’d married every man who has 
happened to ask you, you’d have a masculine harem, 
by Jove." 

“That may be true, Jack, but Fauntleroy ’s know- 
ledge doesn’t stop there, I’m afraid. He knew Rod- 
ney after you had quarreled with him." 

“ The d 1 he did ! Where did he meet him ?” 

“ At the old diggings at Newmarket, I suppose." 

“ And who told you of it ? ” 

“ Rodney himself, the night he threatened me. 
That is the only reason I want to evade Fauntleroy. 
I think the poor fellow was fond of me, and he would 
meet me with a torrent of reproaches, and blurt out 
the whole story before Sir Alan. O ! it would never 
do. When I heard how well he knew them all, I 
blessed my lucky stars I had changed my name." 

“ It was cute of you, Lotty, but you always are 
cute. Still I stick to my opinion, and say, meet 
Fauntleroy if you can, alone, and secure his silence. 
There is no need to advise you how . You could 
make him believe anything you chose, and Rodney s 
spite will easily pass for jealousy." 

“ If I am obliged to meet him, I will remember 
what you say, Jack, but I should like to get my affairs 
settled before we do meet, and then I can snap my 


A SCARLET StN. 


108 

fingers at him. And unlikelier things have happened, 
because he is just about to sail with his regiment to 
Gibraltar, and won’t come back under three years. 
And what may not happen in three years, Jack ? Why, 
if I am not Lady Chichester by that time, I shall be 
on to ‘ fresh fields and pastures new,’ where the 
virtuous Fauntleroy shall know me no more.” 


A SCARLET SIN 


109 


CHAPTER XII. 

THE RETURN OF THE WANDERER. 

Sir Alan Chichester felt rather disappointed that 
Miss Murray’s first question, when he met her at the 
railway station, should be after his absent friend. 
He had dressed himself up with the utmost care in 
order to welcome her back to Glebe Royal. His top- 
coat and driving gloves were faultless, in his button- 
hole bloomed a tiny branch of waxen stephanotis 
from the conservatory, and his face was radiant with 
the anticipation of meeting. Yet the first words 
she spoke were : 

“ Has Captain Fauntleroy left Glebe Royal ? ” 

“Yes. He went last night. But why are you so 
anxious to know ? Are you disappointed at not 
meeting him ? Hes not a bit handsome, if that’s 
what you’ve been thinking.” 

But the arch glance she threw at him dispelled the 
fit of jealousy at once. 

“ Suppose I asked the question because I prefer 
that we should be alone, Sir Alan ? I can assure you 
I have no wish to see any strangers introduced to 
our circle. We are so very happy, are we not, all to 
ourselves ? Anything like a change must be for the 
worse.” 

“/ should think so,” replied the baronet, squeezing 


I lo 


A SCARLET SIN. 


her hand, as he helped her into the dog-cart, “though 
Fauntleroy’s an old chum of mine, and has been wel- 
come to come and go as he pleased. But I’m afraid 
he found me a dull companion this time.’’ 

“ Why ? ” demanded Miss Murray, innocently. 

“ As if you didn’t know why. We have all been 
miserable without you; Miss Murray. The house 
hasn’t been the same thing at all, and as for my poor 
wife, she has done nothing but fret after you and, talk 
of you, and I believe old Jane Wood nearly bullied 
her into fits last evening for ingratitude towards her- 
self.’’ 

“ Dear Lady Chichester,” murmured Cora, softly. 
“ I shouldn’t have left her on any account had it not 
been absolutely necessary. But my poor guardian is 
very ill, Sir Alan, very ill indeed. He is going abroad 
for his health at once, and I greatly fear I shall never 
see him again. And he is the only friend I have in 
the world.” 

“ No, no ! you mustn’t say that,” cried Sir Alan, 
heartily. “We are all your friends at Glebe Royal, 
and as for myself, I feel I can never repay you for 
the services you have rendered my wife. You shall 
never want a guardian whilst I live, Cora.” 

“ I don’t deserve your kindness, but it is an in- 
estimable comfort to me,” she said, sweetly, and then 
she added in a brisker tone, “and so your poor friend 
has really left England for good. How you must 
have felt parting with him ! ” 

“ He is bound to sail with the regiment next Mon- 
day week,” returned the baronet, “ but I hope he will 
not stay in Gibraltar long. I have been trying to 


A SCARLET SIN, 


ill 


persuade him to sell out, and settle down with a nice 
wife near Glebe Royal. He’s a dear old fellow, and 
would make an excellent husband, but he is a regular 
misogynist. He had a great disappointment some 
years ago, and I think it has made him a bit shy of 
the fair sex.” 

“A disappointment! How romantic! There are 
so few men in the present day with feeling enough to 
be disappointed — that is for long. But is there no 
chance of the young lady and himself coming to- 
gether ? ” 

“ O ! not the slightest. She was a regular bad 
lot. He wouldn’t have anything to do with her if 
he could. He hates the very thought of her.” 

Miss Murray pursed up her mouth. 

“ I am afraid I have been indiscreet in putting the 
question, Sir Alan. Such persons are best not 
alluded to. I am very sorry for your friend, but I 
should think his common sense would show him the 
folly of avoiding all women for the sake of one worth- 
less one. Perhaps, after all, he may find his consola- 
tion in Gibraltar. I hope Lady Chichester has not 
neglected to take her daily drive during my absence ? ”• 

“You must ask her that yourself, Miss Murray, for 
my time has all been taken up with Fauntleroy. He 
was quite pleased to think you were keeping ‘ Cock 
Robin ’ in exercise for him, and astonished to hear 
you could ride ‘ Ariel’ out hunting, for, to tell you a 
secret, ‘Ariel’ has sent Hal over his head more than 
once at a flying leap. But, as I told him, you could 
manage anything, myself included.” 

“ I hope you didn’t say that , Sir Alan ? ” 


1 1 2 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“Well, not exactly, perhaps, but I know I felt it. 
The fact is, Cora, you’re knocking me into a cocked 
hat. I have felt like a silly boy all the time you’ve 
been away, and my thoughts have invariably turned 
to the one vital question, ‘ How soon shall I see her 
again ? ’ These three days have seemed like three 
years. What devilment have you exercised over me 
to change the whole of my life like this ? ” 

“ Hush ! Hush ! Sir Alan,” replied Cora, as the 
dog-cart turned into the gates of Glebe Royal, “ you 
mustn’t speak to me like that, indeed you mustn’t. 
Remen. ber I am only a weak girl, and that life is 
hard enough to me as it is — without you” she added, 
in a low tone that spoke volumes. 

It was a speech calculated to draw a man on, in- 
stead of repulsing him, and she knew it but too well. 
The baronet looked eagerly in her face as she finished 
speaking, but she had dropped her eyes and he could 
read nothing further. But there was an increase of 
confidence in the way in which he drew his mare up 
at the hall door, and exclaimed, “ Here you are, Miss 
Murray, home again, and you won’t get another hol- 
iday in a hurry, I can tell you.” 

She laughed as she jumped lightly to the ground, 
and ran past him to the drawing-room. But she 
knew that she had rivetted another link in his fetters. 

Poor Lady Chichester was absurdly delighted to 
see her young companion again, and tears of ex- 
citement mingled with her smiles of welcome. She 
began at once a detailed description of all her feel- 
ings and symptoms during Cora’s absence, and how 
she had quite forgotten to take her drops before din- 


A SCARLET SLY. 


1*3 


ner, and Jane Wood had neglected to put her second 
cushion in the carriage, and so she had been suffering 
with a backache ever since yesterday’s drive. 

“ Don’t you think we might entertain Miss Murray 
with something livelier than a description of your 
ailments, Alice ? ” demanded her husband, somewhat 
crustily. “ She has only just come off a long journey 
and must be tired. Order in tea, or wine, or some- 
thing. It wants a good two hours yet to dinner 
time.” 

“ O ! thank you, Sir Alan,” exclaimed Cora Mur- 
ray, “but I would much rather wait until her lady- 
ship’s afternoon tea. I am not at all tired — how often 
am I to say that nothing tires me — and I will run up 
first and change my dress, if Lady Chichester will 
permit me.” 

“ No, Cora,” pleaded her ladyship, retaining her 
hand, “don’t leave me. I cannot part with you yet. 
Ring the bell, like a dear girl, and order in the tea- 
tray, and then come and tell me all you have been 
doing since we parted. It seems such a long time 
since you went away, and old Jane has wearied me 
so with her foolish chatter that I have been too tired 
to sleep after it.” 

“ I see it is quite time I returned, Lady Chichester. 
You are actually looking paler than when I left Glebe 
Royal. I shall send you to bed very early to-night, 
and old Jane must talk to herself, for I will not allow 
her to worry you.” 

The baronet, finding that the current of conversa- 
tion had turned in an entirely feminine direction, 
stalked, somewhat offended, from the apartment, 


A SCARLET SIN. 


1 14 

but when Miss Murray went up to her room to make 
the necessary changes in her toilet, she found a little 
bouquet of hothouse flowers on her table, that told 
their own tale. And as Sir Alan glanced up as she 
entered the dining-room, he saw that they were bloom- 
ing in her bosom. 

That was a merry evening for all of them, except 
Miss Chichester, who was indignant at the fuss made 
by her brother and his wife over the return of the 
“ companion.” 

Cora Murray was in the highest spirits and most 
delightful of moods. She rattled off a lively de- 
scription of all she had seen and heard in London, 
caricaturing people and things till Sir Alan was con- 
vulsed with laughter, and even Alice joined in his 
merriment. Nor did Miss Murray monopolize all 
the conversation. She took care to draw her friends 
out in return to tell her every minutia connected with 
Captain Fauntleroy’s visit to Glebe Royal, and, as 
far as it was possible, what remarks he had made on 
hearing of her presence there. 

“We told Henry everything , dear Cora,” cried 
Lady Chichester, enthusiastically, “and he was almost 
as anxious to see you as we were. And I wanted 
to show him your photograph too, but I couldn’t find 
it. By the way, dear, do you know where it was 
put ? ” 

“ In the drawer of your writing table, I think, Lady 
Chichester.” 

“ So did I, but I cannot find it. I hope no one has 
stolen it.” 

“ A thief would scarcely purloin such a very worth- 


A SCARLET SIN. 


nS 

less article,” replied Miss Murray, smiling, but as her 
eyes met those of the baronet, she guessed who the 
thief had been. 

Lady Chichester’s excitement at getting her young 
friend back again tired her so, that she was quite 
willing to accede to her proposal that she should go 
to bed at nine o’clock, and when Cora had magne- 
tized her to sleep, she stole quietly out of her room, 
intending to go to her own. But in the dark corridor 
she was met by the baronet, who had been lying in 
wait for her. 

“ Sir Alan,” she whispered, as he caught her hand, 
“you must not detain me. Miss Chichester has not 
yet retired. She may appear at any moment.” 

“ And if she did, w r hat harm is there in my exchang- 
ing a few words with you ? I might be inquiring 
after my wife. And I must speak to you, Cora. I 
cannot sleep until I have told you how glad I am to 
see you back at Glebe Royal. And promise it shall 
be the last time you ever go away.” 

Cora laughed softly. 

“ That would be very rash on my part, Sir Alan, 
but I will promise never to leave you unless there is 
an actual necessity for doing so.” 

“ But I cannot live without you, Cora. I have 
tested my heart in these few days, and it has spoken 
the truth. I love you ! ” 

“ Hush ! You mustn’t say that. Whatever you 
feel you must keep it to yourself. It would be very 
wrong of me to listen, and very foolish, because — 
because — ” 

“ Because what , my darling ? ” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


116 

“ My heart would speak too, were I not afraid to 
listen to it. Have pity on me, Sir Alan. Remember 
that I am alone and unprotected. Do not force me 
to seek refuge from you in flight.” 

“ Good heavens ! No ! I will never open my lips 
again, sooner than you should think of such a thing. 
I could not part with you. Only it would make me 
so happy if you would but say three words.” 

“ And what are they ? ” 

“ I love you.” . 

“ Cannot you guess ? What need is there of speak- 
ing ? Why make me confess my weakness ? But if 
it is to make you happier — I love you.” 

His arms were clasped round her in a minute, and 
his heavy moustache brushed against her lips. And 
she submitted — although she loathed herself and him 
whilst she did so. 

“ Let me go now,” she whispered, “ or some one 
may come this way.” 

He kissed her again and again before he released 
her, and she left him trembling with the passionate 
instincts she had provoked. 

His was a coarse-fibred nature which needed 
coarse nutriment, and the life of enforced restraint 
which he had been compelled to lead had well-nigh 
dried up the generous current of his blood, until her 
charms had set it flowing. She appealed to the 
lowest part of his nature, but also to the most power- 
ful, and for the time being he was infatuated. 

He remained motionless, gazing after the place 
where she had disappeared, and then he stooped 
down and kissed the spot where her feet had stood. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


117 


“ Good gracious ! Alan, what on earth are you do- 
ing there ? I might have fallen over you,” exclaimed 
the harsh voice of Miss Chichester, as she came upon 
him whilst thus employed. “ Have you lost any- 
thing ? ” 

He might have answered, “ My senses but he only 
muttered something about dropping his breast-pin, 
as with a very red face he rose to his feet again, and 
began fumbling with his necktie. 

“ Well, I don’t see how a breast-pin can fall out 
upon the ground, and I don’t believe you’re tell- 
ing the truth,” said Miss Chichester, with more 
acumen than politeness, as she strode onwards to her 
bedchamber. 

But what cared the baronet for any of his sister’s 
sarcasm when he met Cora Murray at breakfast the 
following morning radiant with youth and beauty } 
and ready to join in any of his favorite pursuits. 

“ It isn’t a hunting morning,” he observed, “ and I 
am glad of it, for you had a fatiguing journey yester- 
day, and I can’t have you knocked up. But if you 
feel inclined to ride out as far as Battersby, I want 
to look at some young cart-horses there that Meason 
has for sale. Do you think you can manage it ? ” 

“ I am sure I can. It will be delightful,” she 
answered, brightly. 

“ Have you obtained Lady Chichester’s permis- 
sion ? ” asked Miss Chichester, grimly. 

“I never go anywhere without first asking her 
ladyship’s permission,” said Cora. 

“ And, by Jove ! it's no business of yours if she 
didn’t,” added the baronet, with a frown. 


1 1 8 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Miss Chichester is very kind to remind me of my 
duty, only I trust that I don’t need reminding/ ” in- 
terposed Miss Murray, sweetly. 

“ I’m sure you don’t, you are simply devoted to 
Alice, and no one is better aware of what she owes 
to your care and attention than I am,” said Sir Alan. 

His sister was just about to make some caustic 
reply when the door of the breakfast-room was sud- 
denly thrown open, and in walked, without ceremony 
or warning, Captain Henry Fauntleroy. 


A SCARLET o/iV. 


“9 


CHAPTER XIII. 

DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND. 

To say that his entrance Caused a general surprise is 
nothing. Sir Alan — who believed his friend to be in 
Cumberland — first stared at his apparition with round, 
open eyes, and then burst into a noisy shout of wel- 
come. Miss Chichester displayed her teeth, and de- 
clared he was the last person on earth she expected 
to see, and Miss Murray, who was supposed, naturally, 
never to have met Captain Fauntleroy before, 
dropped her maiden glance upon her breakfast plate, 
whilst the hot blood surged into her face, and she 
tried with all the will of which she was capable to 
force down the violent beating of her heart and the 
heaving of her bosom. 

Henry Fauntleroy’s eyes traveled, first of all, to 
the drooping figure of the companion and recognized 
it, with a sudden access of feeling of which he had 
believed himself to be cured, whilst his countenance 
became as pale from emotion as her’s was red from 
mingled shame and fear. But he shook it off bravely, 
and turned to grasp the baronet’s outstretched hand. 

“ You are all surprised to see me back again, like a 
bad half-penny,” he said in rather an uncertain 
voice; “but I found I could spare you another day, 
Alan, and I was loath to miss one, when so few re- 
main for me at Glebe Royal,” 


120 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Right you are, Hal ! ” cried Sir Alan ; “ but why 
did you ever leave us, old fellow ? I thought you 
were safe in Cumberland by this time.” 

“ I always intended to see my old friend, Dr. Mc- 
Pherson, on the way, you know,” replied Captain 
Fauntleroy, mendaciously, “ and whilst there I received 
a telegram to say my brother will not be at home 
till to-morrow, so I thought I would worry you in 
the meanwhile.” 

He had concocted this ingenious fable on the way . 
there, but it served to blind the eyes of the baronet 
and his sister. 

“Well, sit down, old man, and have some breakfast,” 
said the- former, cheerily. “ I am sure you must have 
started without it, for you look blue with the cold. 
It’s a sharp frost this morning, hang it ! We shall 
have no scent left if this weather goes on. Miss 
Murray and I were going to ride out to Battersby 
— O ! by the way, I never introduced you, but there’s 
not much need, I expect you have heard all about 
each other ! Miss Murray, this is my old friend, 
Captain Fauntleroy.” 

The companion bowed, scarcely raising her eyes as 
she did so, but slight as the glance was, it was suffi- 
cient to let her catch the expression in that of her 
old acquaintance, and she despised herself for the 
faintness that came over her, and the want of moral 
courage she displayed. 

“After all,” she said, inwardly, “what have I 
done that I should fear him ? If he has come here 
with the intention of betraying me, I will dare him to 
say what he knows to my detriment,” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


21 


And with that resolution she looked at Henry 
Fauntleroy a second time, smiling sweetly as she did 
so, and sent such a flood of unhappy recollections 
sweeping through the poor man’s brain that he be- 
came confused and incoherent, and made his uneasi- 
ness palpable to all present. As he played with the 
viands they had placed before him, Sir Alan attacked 
him again on the subject of the proposed ride. 

“ You had better come to Battersby with us, Hal, 
if you’re not tired,” he said. “ I want to see Meason’s 
cart foals. It’s a charming ride, and will freshen you 
up, and, by Jove ! you look as if you wanted freshen- 
ing. What’s the matter with you ? Have you been 
traveling all night ? ” 

“O no! I started at seven this morning.” 

“ Then you must be bilious. However, a good 
gallop will set you all right. We would go over to the 
kennels instead — you remember I wanted you to see 
those new pups of ‘Regent’ yesterday — only Miss 
Murray and I have already made our plans for the 
"morning.” 

“ Sir Alan,” interposed the companion, in her rich 
oft voice, “please don’t consider me. I would rather 
attend her ladyship’s summons. I would indeed.” 

“ O nonsense ! Alice never wakes till ten or eleven 
— you know that well enough — and we’ll be back 
before she is out of bed. Besides, I want Fauntleroy 
to make your acquaintance. He was so disappointed 
at missing you before.” 

Miss Murray — who had risen from the table — was 
about to reiterate her request, when Miss Chichester 
(who had already reached the door) called sharply 


122 


A SCARLET SIN. 


to her brother, “ Alan ! Come here ! I want to speak 
to you.” 

The baronet was in politeness bound to obey. In 
another moment, she had drawn him into the hall 
beyond. Henry Fauntleroy saw his opportunity, 
and caught at it. He rose also and stood by Cora’s 
side, looking out upon the Park. 

“ I must speak to you alone,” he said, in a hurried 
whisper. When and where can I see you ? ” 

41 Are you here to injure me ? ” she asked him in 
return, looking him full in the eyes. 

“ By heavens, no! but I will not leave till I have 
spoken to you. Quick! where shall it be?” 

“In my sitting-room on the landing, in an hour’s 
time,” she answered. 

“You will not deceive me? If you do — ” he com- 
menced. 

“You will tell Sir Alan,” she answered calmly. 
“ No, I will be there.” 

At this juncture the baronet returned, looking 
rather crusty. Miss Chichester had been taking him 
sharply to task for evincing so much interest in his 
wife’s companion, and knowing what his private feel- 
ings were on the subject, Sir Alan felt very much like 
a boy who has been discovered with his pocket full 
of apples during school time. If his hawk-eyed sis- 
ter were going to peep and pry after all he said and 
did in the future, he recognized that his life would 
not be worth living. 

“Come along,” he exclaimed curtly, “ don’t let us 
waste all the morning. Have you made up your 
minds what you are going to do ? ” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


123 


66 1 am altogether at your disposal, Alan,” replied 
Fauntleroy. 

“ And /,” said Cora, with downcast eyes, “ think it 
would be better if I stayed at home, at all events for 
to-day. It is the first morning after my return, you 
see, Sir Alan, and Lady Chichester may ask for me 
on waking, and as you have Captain Fauntleroy for 
company, you will not need mine.” 

“ All right. Do as you please,” said the baronet 
sulkily, but Miss Murray did not mind his sulks, for 
she knew she could cure them at her will. All she 
thought of at the moment was how to conciliate the 
other man. So she turned her glorious eyes on him 
with a beseeching look in them, and said, “ I do not 
suppose you will be gone more than an hour.” 

“ O no,” answered Fauntleroy, significantly, “ we 
shall be back in an hour. You may depend upon 
that.” 

The baronet glanced from one to the other with 
a puzzled air. What was it to Miss Murray when 
Captain Fauntleroy would be back at Glebe Royal, 
and what right had his friend to determine the length 
of his absence for him ? And (when he came to think 
of it) why had Hal returned to them in so mysterious 
a manner, unless it had been for the express purpose 
of meeting Lady Chichester’s companion ? Sir Alan 
was a very jealous man, and his suspicions were 
quickly roused. He hurried Fauntleroy away after 
this little episode, as though he had detected him in 
a crime, and the latter was not slow to detect the 
feeling he had so suddenly evoked. Miss Murray 
watched them leave the room, and then stole quietly 


124 


A SCARLET SIN. 


up to her own (which she had made far more home- 
like in its appearance by this time), and tried to think 
what was best to be done. Had Fauntleroy deceived 
her, and would he tell the whole story of their ac- 
quaintance to the baronet during their morning ride ? 
She thought not. Though it was five years since they 
had met, she remembered enough of his honorable 
sentiments and behavior to believe that he would 
never lose the instincts of a gentleman. He had 
said he would not injure her, and he would keep his 
word. Only, he might think it necessary to warn 
her off the premises of Glebe Royal, and then what 
would become of her little plans with regard to .the 
baronet ? She would not have been afraid of any- 
thing, had Fauntleroy not met with Rodney, who 
knew every circumstance of her former life. She 
pressed her forehead hard with both her hands as 
she remembered Rodney’s power of betrayal, and 
wondered what falsehood she could invent with 
which to meet any probable accusations on Captain 
Fauntleroy’s part. She was still thus occupied when 
she heard Miss Chichester’s untuneful voice calling 
over the banisters on her name. 

“ Miss Murray ! Miss Murray ! where are you ? 
John, go and find Miss Murray, and tell her to attend 
Lady Chichester’s bell at once. It has rung twice 
for her. Anne, run up to her bedroom and see if 
she’s there. If she is dressing for riding, say she 
can’t go. Lady Chichester particularly desires her 
presence without any delay.” 

“ I am here, Miss Chichester. You are giving 
yourself unnecessary trouble,” replied Cora, appear- 


A SCARLET SIN. 


*25 


ing at the door of her sitting-room ; “ it is not often 
that her ladyship has to employ a messenger to take 
me to her side.” 

“ Well, she has this morning at all events,” replied 
the elder lady, tartly, “ and I beg you will go to her 
at once. What with riding, and walking, and talk- 
ing, it is difficult to know where to find you some- 
times. One would imagine you had been engaged to 
be my brother’s companion, instead of his wife’s.” 

“ That is Sir Alan’s business, I suppose, and not 
yours or mine,” replied Cora, in a dignified manner, 
as she passed Miss Chichester on the stairs and en- 
tered her ladyship’s room. The old woman hated 
the younger at all times, but more especially when 
she put on her dignity. She could compete with 
rudeness, bnt not with the essence of silent indigna- 
tion. 

The urgent call to Lady Chichester’s assistance 
proved to be an unnecessary one. 

Alice had awakened, brighter and better than usual, 
and had asked for her young companion only that she 
might kiss her and thank her anew for having come 
back to her, whilst Jane Wood stood by, green with 
envy at the sight, and muttered to herself. 

“ O Cora, dear ! ” exclaimed Lady Chichester, with 
a happy sigh, “ I think you must have brought back 
good luck with you, for I have had such a beautiful 
dream, all about the days when my darling Alan was 
wooing me to be his wife, and we looked forward to 
such a long, happy life of love together. I feel as if 
I had been in heaven.” 

“ But it is all true,” replied Miss Murray cheerfully. 


126 


A SCAT? LET SIN. 


“ You talk as if you had been disappointed. When 
you are strong again, you will have all your heart can 
desire.” 

“ Ah ! when” sighed Alice, again, “ when. And 
me nwhile I am nothing but a useless toy. O Cora! 
if I had but your life and beauty, how different life 
would be for me and my poor Alan.” 

“Lor! my lady,” cried Jane Wood, indignantly, 
“you shouldn’t bemean yourself by a comparison 
with anyone else, and, least of all, with them as is 
beneath you. Sir Alan wouldn’t change you for 
the Queen on her throne. I’d take my oath of it.” 

“Jane! I will not allow you to speak like that. 
Miss Murray is my dear friend.” 

“Hush, dear Lady Chichester, Jane is quite right. 
I am beneath you in everything. And now shall I 
assist you to rise ? ” 

“No, I don’t want to get up just yet; I am so 
afraid of losing the sense of that delicious dream. O 
Cora ! some day I will tell you more about that happy 
time when I and Sir Alan were young. How hand- 
some he was — the handsomest young man in the 
country side — and how he loved me ! For he did 
love me, Jane, didn’t he ? You saw it all from the 
beginning.” 

“ He worshipped the very ground you trod on, my 
lady. Everyone could see that, and so he do to 
this day, bless you, only the older we grows, the less 
we speaks our feelings out.” 

“Do you really think he does?” said Alice, with 
her blue eyes dimmed with tender recollections. 
“Sometimes I hope so too, and then sometimes I 


A SCARLET SIN. 


127 


fear that I have tired his patience out. Jane, tell 
Miss Murray what Sir Alan looked liked on our wed- 
ding day, when the church at my dear father’s home 
was filled with the people who came to see us married, 
and amongst them all there wasn’t a man who could 
hold a candle to my brave young husband of twenty- 
two, was there, Jane ? ” 

“To be sure not, my lady, but what business is it 
of Miss Murray’s ? She’s got her own duties to look 
after, like all of us, and no time to go dreaming of 
the past, like your ladyship.” 

“ But then I should like her to know how hand- 
some he was in those days, Jane, how good and true 
to me. But he has always been that , God bless him ! 
I believe in my Alan as I do in Heaven. And some- 
times, Cora, I wonder if, when I am gone, he should 
marry again (as he must , you know, for the sake of 
the title), his second wife will ever love him as I 
have done.” 

'* My lady, you mustn’t talk such things,” exclaimed 
Jane Wood. “A second wife indeed! You’re far 
more likely to live to be married again yourself.” 

Alice’s eyes dilated with holy horror. 

“ O Jane ! think what you are saying,” she cried. 

“ But Jane is right, dear Lady Chichester,” inter- 
posed Cora, gently ; “ you should neither think nor 
speak of such an improbable contingency. There 
are many years of happiness before you both, and it 
there were not, I am sure Sir Alan is the last man 
in the world to dream of marrying again. Who 
would who had lost you ? ” 

« I am a wicked, ungrateful woman ever to be sad 


128 


A SCARLET SIN. 


or desponding with such a husband and such a friend 
as you and Alan,’* replied Lady Chichester, smiling. 
“And now go, dear Cora, and leave me to myself, and 
I will close my eyes and try to dream that beautiful 
dream over again.” 

Miss Murray rearranged her pillows and kissed and 
left her, content and smiling, and walking back to her 
own room, shut herself in, and waited in perplexity 
and suspense for the advent of Captain Fauntleroy. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


129 


CHAPTER XIV. 

FOOLED TO HIS BENT. 

At the time appointed, he came, but she was pre- 
pared for him. As soon as he crossed the threshold 
of the door, she turned the key in the lock and laid 
her finger on her lip. 

“If you must speak,” she whispered, “ do it in 
tones that cannot be overheard. The old woman 
has ears like a lynx, and is not above applying them, 
when necessary, to the keyhole.” 

She laughed a little as she concluded, but her 
laugh was very nervous. She could not think where 
all her courage had gone, nor why the presence of 
this man should make her feel timid, and even tear- 
ful. As he heard her injunction he came close up to 
her side. 

“ You know that I must speak,” he replied, in a low 
voice ; “ that it would be impossible for me to meet 
you here — in intimate communion with the wife of 
my best friend — and to go away without asking you 
a single question. What would Sir Alan say to me 
if the truth were at any time revealed to him ? ” 

“ Then you mean to betray me, you have returned 
for that purpose,” she said. 

“ Not if you satisfy me that there is no necessity 

9 


130 


A SCARLET SIN. 


for it, that the past is really past, over, and done 
with for ever.” 

“ I really don’t understand you. What is there in 
my past to unfit me for the post of Lady Chichester’s 
companion ? ” 

“ Have you not confessed it, Lotta ? Did you not 
ask me if I intended to betray you ? ” 

“ I was merely alluding to such foolish passages 
as may have occurred between you and me, Captain 
Fauntleroy.” 

“ Foolish , do you call them, Lotta ? That is far too 
mild a term. Call them ‘criminal’ at once, for what 
greater crime can a woman commit than to lead a 
man to believe she loves him, and then, when he con- 
siders he has earned the right to claim her as his 
wife, to throw him aside like a worn-out glove, and 
mock at the life-long pain she has caused him ? How 
much I wish that you and I had only been foolish. 
I should not then have felt the knife turn in the 
wound, as I do when I look at you even now.” 

He turned his face away from her as he spoke, and 
she was obliged to keep silence for a few minutes, in 
order to make her voice steady. She had never ex- 
pected that his presence would affect her to such a 
degree, but the old times kept surging in her mind, 
and Fauntleroy had made more impression on her 
then than she had ever cared to acknowledge. 

“ Fauntleroy,” she whispered, “ don’t be silly. I 
was not worth caring for. For heaven’s sake let me 
hear what you have to say, and get this interview 
over.” 

“ I am a fool,” he said, slowly, “to suffer myself 


A SCARLET SIN. 


131 

to be overcome by a memory, but I never denied 
that I loved you. Yet, let us keep, as you suggest, 
to the question in hand. How is it I find you here ?” 

“ The answer is very simple. Iam cast on my 
own resources for a living, and there is no other 
means by which I can make one. I advertised for a 
situation, and was engaged by Lady Chichester. I 
didn’t know they were your friends when I came to 
Glebe Royal.” 

“ But that man then — Foster — what became of 
him ? ” 

“You mean my uncle?” 

“ No,” replied Fauntleroy, with a savage frown. 
“ I do not mean your uncle. I mean the man you 
introduced to me under that name, but whom I found 
out afterwards to bear a very different relationship to 
you. It is useless your denying it, Lotta. I have 
met Paul Rodney and he told me all." 

“ Paul Rodney ?” she said, elevating her dark eye- 
brows, “my greatest enemy, who swore to blast my 
character wherever he went ! And what had that 
rascal to say to you of me ? ” 

“ Why should he be your enemy ? ” 

“ For a very common reason, for the same which 
makes you vindictive against me now. Because I 
refused him.” 

“ /am not your enemy, Lotta,” said Captain Faunt- 
leroy in a meek voice; “ I would not injure you for 
all the world. But I must know what sort of a life 
you are living now, if I am to leave you at peace 
under the roof of my friends.” 

At that suggestion, Cora Murray hid her face in 


I 3 2 


A SCARLET SUV, 


her hands, and commenced to weep in an unobtrik- 
sive, silent manner. 

“ O heaven ! ” she moaned, “it is very, very hard, 
that the stigma which others have cast upon a woman 
can never leave her, however earnestly she may strive 
to cast it off, but will keep cropping up to stab her to 
the heart, even at the hands of the man who pro- 
fessed to love her.” 

“ It was no profession, Lotta, I did love you truly 
and devotedly, as I believed you loved me, and 
should have continued to do so to this day if you 
had evinced the slightest feeling for me in return.” 

“You men are so blind,” she sobbed. 

“ Do you mean to tell me that you did feel for me 
when you refused my overtures of marriage with 
insult and scorn ? ” 

“ He did — the man who taught me to believe he 
was my uncle — not / — and it was Rodney who in- 
stigated him to the deed, because he hoped to marry 
me himself. But why refer to the miserable Paul. 
It is over and done with, and neither of your hearts 
are broken. Let it rest.” 

“ The man who taught you to believe he was your 
uncle ? ” repeated Fauntlerov. “ What do you 
mean ? ” 

“ I mean that I am a wretched waif and stray, who 
does not even know who her parents were — that I 
was picked up, or adopted, by Foster at an age too 
early for me to remember — that I always believed 
him to be my uncle till a short time ago, and was 
told that I owed him the obedience of a daughter. 
But when I found that I had been deceived I left 


A SCARLET SIN. 


H3 


him, and determined to support myself. And now, 
I suppose you will take my living from me, and I let 
starve ? ” 

“ But where is this Foster ? ” 

“ In Australia, I think, but I am not sure. He left 
England some time ago.” 

“ And where have you been since, Lotta ? ” 

“ Earning my daily bread as I do now, by waiting 
on the whims and fancies of other women, and having 
no will of my own. It is not a congenial life, as you 
may well imagine.” 

Henry Fauntleroy was silent for a few minutes. 
He knew this woman to be brilliantly accomplished, 
and he had seen her in a very different position. He 
could not quite understand why she should have 
chqsen to sfrik herself and her identity to the level 
of a lady’s companion, unless she had some ulterior 
motive for doing so. He was too sensible a man not 
to be suspicious, bufc^at the same time he was longing 
to be convinced that his suspicions were wrong. 

“ I can well imagine,” he said, after a pause, “ that 
the position is most irksome to you, but tell me then, 
Lotta, why you adopted it. Last time I knew you, 
you were on the stage. Why did you not remain 
there ? ” 

She cast down her eyes. 

“ O Fauntleroy, how can you ask me ? Were you 
not the first to urge me to quit so perilous a pro- 
fession ? I suffered enough in following your advice, 
I can assure you, not only in loss of money, but in the 
resentment of my guardian, who abused me for what 
he termed my infatuation for yourself. But when 


1 34 


A SCARLET SIN. 


we parted, I threw up my engagement, and refused 
to take another, for I was too sad just then to think 
much of consequences, and so I lost my place in the 
theatrical profession, and should not find it easy to 
regain it.” 

“And you did this for my sake,” he said, stead- 
fastly regarding her. “ How little I thought, when I 
searched the theatrical papers in vain for the name 
of Lotta Mapleson, that you had withdrawn it be- 
cause I asked you. But there is another thing,” he 
continued quickly, a second suspicion rising as fast 
as the first was quelled. “ Why should you change 
your name ? People who have nothing to be ashamed 
of do not conceal their identity in that manner. 
Why did you not come here as Miss Mapleson ? ” 

“ O Captain Fauntleroy, you are too hard on me,” 
she cried, with tears in her eyes, “you are ready to 
believe the very worst. I am indeed unfortunate to 
have sunk so low in your estimation. Would it not 
have been folly of me to retain my own name, when 
it had appeared, as you have just confessed, in the 
columns of every theatrical newspaper ? Was it not 
a very innocent deception to conceal the identity of 
Lotta Mapleson, the actress, under that of Cora Mur- 
ray, the companion ? I am no longer on the stage, 
I shall never return to it. Why should I mar my 
new career by placing it in the power of my new 
employers to trace my connection with the old one ? 
Surely, you are not such a purist as to blame the 
girl who has done all in her power to follow the advice 
you gave her, even though she has been forced to 
deny her own name in order to do so.” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


135 


6i No ! No ! ” exclaimed Fauntleroy, in genuine 
distress, “ don’t think so badly of me as that. I blame 
you for nothing, Lotta. I confess that, when I found 
that you were living with the Chichesters, I was a 
little startled, for Paul Rodney told me such a terrible 
scandal about you that I have had but one desire 
since, to forget that you ever existed. But if you 
can assure me that he lied, if you will tell me that 
there was no tie between you and that man Foster 
except the falsehood he had invented to keep you at 
his side, and that you are here for the sole reason of 
earning an honest livelihood, then Heaven forbid that 
I, of all men, should be the one to put a spoke in 
your wheel. I will go away, silent, as I came, and 
trust you to do your duty by both my friend and his 
wife.” 

“ I knew you would never have the heart to betray 
me,” said Cora, with a sob in her throat. “ I felt sure 
that you — of all men — of all men — ” 

But she could not finish the sentence. Something 
seemed to rise in her throat and prevent it, and Henry 
Fauntleroy eagerly took up the parable. 

“ Go on ! ” he exclaimed ; “ why me of all men ? 
Is it only because I loved you, Lotta ? ” 

“ No.” 

“ Why then ? ” 

“ Because I loved you ! ” 

“You loved me?” he reiterated, in astonishment. 

“ Why not ? ” she answered ; “ is there anything 
extraordinary in that ? Are you so unloveable, or 
do you not credit me with the ordinary instincts of 
my sex ? Would I have made the sacrifice I did if 
I had been indifferent to what you thought of me ? ” 


1 3 6 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ But, Lotta, one moment. If you loved me, why 
did you refuse my hand in marriage ? ” 

“ I never refused it. The man I called my uncle 
refused it for me, and I have already told you who 
instigated him to do it. And I suffered — Heaven 
alone knows how I suffered — from the effect of his 
decision.” 

“ Surely you might have let me know it was against 
your wishes. You sent me from you broken-hearted 
— more than that, for I believed you to be unworthy 
of me, and that is the hardest of all griefs for a man 
to overcome. Why didn’t you write to me, or follow 
me, and I would have sheltered you in my arms 
against a thousand such scoundrels as Rodney and 
Foster ? ” 

“ I did not know the extent of my power,” she 
whispered. “ I believed Foster to hold legal authority 
over me, and that he could use force to drag me back 
again.” 

Henry Fauntleroys eyes began to gleam with the 
awakening fire of an almost forgotten passion. His 
frame trembled, as he pressed closer to her side, and 
the glamour of the past threw its unholy light once 
more upon the face and figure of Lotta Mapleson. 
She had always been a dangerous woman for him, 
and now, with the new belief that she had loved 
him all the while that he was grieving over her sup- 
posed indifference, she became more dangerous still. 

He lost his usual common-sense, and thought only 
of her power over him, as he poured a second tale of 
passion in her ear. 

“ Lotta! Lotta! ” he murmured, “ it is not yet too 


A SCARLET SIN. 


137 


late. Let us forget and forgive all the past, and live 
for each other in the future. There is no one to come 
between us now. I am still poor, my darling, and I 
shall never be rich, but if you will be my wife, I can 
at least support you in comfort and save you from a 
life of servitude. Lotta, you will come to me.” He 
threw his arms about her and laid his hot cheek 
against hers as he spoke, and for a moment Cora 
Murray wavered. There are times when the most 
worldly and dissipated of mortals long to fly from 
their surroundings to some blissful haven of rest, but 
such longings seldom last. Cora’s face flushed, and 
her lips trended, for Fauntleroy, without either 
good looks or means, had come nearer to touching 
her heart than any other man. But she could not 
afford to indulge in sentiment which carried poverty 
in its train. Her mind was bent just then on settling 
herself in marriage, but not with a penniless captain 
in a regiment of the Line. And so she lay very quiet, 
with her face against his, and murmured, 

“ Don’t ask me, don’t tempt me. I shall never 
marry.” 

“ But why not, since you love me ? ” 

“ I am not worthy of you.” 

“ That is all nonsense, and concerns no one but 
ourselves. The love I bore you in the past has rushed 
upon me again like an overwhelming flood. Lotta. 
be my wife.” 

“ Impossible ! I have promised never to leave Lady 
Chichester while she is ill.’ 

“ But will you give me no hope ? ” 

“If you will join your regiment in Gibraltar as you 


« 3 * 


A SCARLET SIN. 


Intended, and neither seek me out nor write to me 
until I give you leave, I will let you know when I 
have made up my mind. For you have asked me 
too suddenly. You must give me time to think. 
And meanwhile you must be silent as the grave. Will 
you promise me ? ” 

“ The conditions are hard, my darling, but I con- 
sent to them, for, before long, I feel you will be mine.” 

But as he left her, and the fascination of her pre- 
sence faded from his view, and his fevered blood 
cooled down to its usual temperature, Captain Faunt- 
leroy felt he had done a rash thing which it would 
be well to undo again ; and Cora Murray recognized, 
with a heavy sigh, that she had turned for the second 
time from the advances of the only man she had ever 
cared for. 


A SCARLET Sltf. 


*39 


CHAPTER XV. 

AN UNHOLY CONTRACT. 

Captain Fauntleroy left Glebe Royal on the 
following morning, this time without any intention 
of returning, and then Miss Murray found there was 
the baronet to conciliate before she could assume 
her former position in his good graces. For though 
she had been as cautious as her nature prompted 
her, and had scarcely addressed Fauntleroy for the 
remainder of the day, her lover had not been equally 
prudent. It is difficult for people who love each 
other entirely to conceal their feelings from the 
world, for eyes will speak though lips are shut, and 
Sir Alan had intercepted several glances that had 
made him feel uneasy. What business, he thought 
to himself, had Hal to be looking at Cora Murray in 
that “spooney” fashion, when he had never seen the 
girl until that morning ? Was she, after all, a flirt, 
and had she, by word or deed, encouraged his 
evident admiration ? The baronet’s jealous tempera- 
ment was roused, and he became unusually reserved 
with both the delinquents. A long evening spent 
together in the smoking room, and passed in recall- 
ing old reminiscences, somewhat restored his genial- 
ity towards his old chum, yet he was not sorry when 
the morning came, and he saw Fauntleroy drive 


146 


A scarlet sm 


away in the clog-cart to the railway station. Such 
power have the charms of a worthless woman to 
upset a friendship of twenty years’ duration. Miss 
Murray was not present to bid Captain Fauntleroy 
farewell. She purposely kept out of the way until 
she knew he had left the house, for she felt there was 
danger in their meeting, and she regretted having 
said as much as she had to him the day before. 
Men were so impulsive. There was no knowing 
what they might do under the influence of passion. 
Fauntleroy was even capable of resigning his pro- 
fession, if it would keep him a few days longer by 
her side. And that was indeed what he had been 
thinking of ever since their interview — whether he 
should not close at once with his godfather’s offer 
and remain in England to woo her for his wife. But 
she had asked him to go to Gibraltar with his regi- 
ment and leave her time to think, and like a gallant 
gentleman he consented. So he drove away from 
Glebe Royal with rather a heavy heart, and Miss 
Murray descended to the breakfast-room, and set to 
work to bewitch the baronet over again. But Sir 
Alan was a little sulky, and Cora had to flash her 
eyes several times at him before he consented to 
smile. 

“Are you going to Battersby this morning, Sir 
Alan ? ” she inquired sweetly. 

“ It lies with you. You didn’t seem to care about 
it yesterday.” 

“ Indeed you are mistaken. Have you never 
heard of anyone relinquishing her own wishes for 
the sake of another ? Captain Fauntleroy was your 


A SCARLET SW. 


4i 


guest, and I thought you should devote your time to 
him.” 

“ Are you trying to teach my brother his duty, 
Miss Murray?” demanded Miss Chichester, with 
asperity. 

“ By no means, Miss Chichester. I should not 
presume to take such a liberty. I was only showing 
Sir Alan that I knew my own.” 

“ I am glad you do,” was the answer. 

Cora smiled and glanced at the baronet. The 
smile said, “ See what I suffer for your sake,” and 
Sir Alan’s heart softened. 

“ Well, will you come to Battersby this-morning ? ” 
he asked her. 

“With pleasure, if Lady Chichester does not re- 
quire me.” 

“ Lady Chichester is fool enough to say anything 
sooner than keep you to your duties,” snapped Miss 
Chichester. 

Sir Alan frowned. 

“I beg you will remember who you are speaking 
of, Anna, and not call my wife a fool to my face,” he 
said . 

“ I shall call her what I choose and yourself into 
the bargain,” was the retort. “You’re both fools, 
if that will please you better. You , for running all 
over the county with Miss Murray, and she , for 
allowing it. And so now you know my mind about 
the matter.” 

And with that, Miss Chichester left her seat, and 
stalked majestically from the room. Sir Alan and 
his companion stole a stealthy glance at one another. 


142 


A SCARLET SIN. 


but had no need to speak. Something told them 
both that things were coming to a crisis. 

“ Ought I to go ? ” asked Cora presently. 

“ Certainly,” replied the baronet. “ I’m not going 
to be bullied by my sister in this way. Besides, I 
have something particular to say to you. Make as 
much haste as you can, and I will order the horses to 
come round at once.” 

And in a few minutes more they were riding down 
the drive together. 

“You are very silent this morning,” remarked 
Cora, as they gained the high road to Battersby. 

“ I am thinking of my sister’s confounded imper- 
tinence,” he answered moodily. “ Suppose she were 
to repeat it to Lady Chichester. She might make a 
nice mess of it for you and me.” 

“ Nonsense, Sir Alan. You cannot believe Lady 
Chichester would be so foolish as to be vexed about 
our riding together. Why, it was she who urged it 
upon me. But you were not yourself all yesterday. 
I cannot imagine what has come to you.” 

He turned round on his horse to regard her. 

“ You cannot imagine . O what dupes you women 
try to make of us, when you know the reason as well 
as myself! Do you mean to tell me that you did 
not perceive how Hal Fauntleroy admired you ? 
Why, he never took his eyes off you all day ! ” 

“ Captain Fauntleroy ? ” she' said incredulously. 
“O, Sir Alan, you must be mistaken.” 

“ I couldn’t mistake the evidence of my own eyes. 
It was palpable to everyone.” 

“ But even if it were so, what harm does it do me f ” 
she inquired. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


143 

“Well, I don’t suppose it can do you any real 
harm, but I cannot stand it. I would have no man’s 
eyes ever light upon you except my own. Cora, 
you don’t know what I feel for you yet. You are 
driving me wild. If I cannot have you for my own, 
no other man ever shall.” 

“ O, Sir Alan, have I ever given you any cause for 
jealousy ? Have I — have I not sufficiently revealed 
my feelings to you in return ? How can you fail to 
see — to see — ” 

“ I do see it,” he exclaimed fervently, as he laid 
his hand on hers, and brought their horses close to- 
gether; “every dear look you give me, every word 
when we are alone, reveals the truth. But, oh 
Cora ! where will it end ? What are we to do with 
this terrible, delicious love of ours ?” 

“ We must hope and wait,” she answered; “no 
one knows what may lie in the future for us.” 

“Ah! my poor wife,” he said, relinquishing her 
hand with a sigh. “ I do not suppose there is any 
chance of her complete recovery. She seems to 
grow worse and worse to me instead of better. I 
often wonder what the issue of her illness will be.’’ 

“ I am afraid to give you much hope, Sir Alan.” 

“No one can do that. I see what Jolliffe thinks 
of her plainly enough. Only yesterday, he spoke to 
me about having a specialist from London to consult 
upon her case. But it will be useless. I feel I am 
to lose her.” 

He rode on silently for a few minutes after that, 
with his head bowed forward, until Miss Murray’s 
hand came stealing into his own. 


144 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“Dear Sir Alan, don't look like that. I have 
not much more faith in doctors than Miss Chi- 
chester, and Jolliffe is only a county practitioner. 
Let us wait and hear what the London specialist may 
have to say. He may discover it is a mare’s nest 
after all.” 

“ But in that case what is to become of you and 
me, Cora?” 

“ O ! I am no one by comparison with her. Leave 
me to my fate.” 

“ By George, I never will. Besides, my fate and 
yours are one. I should be wretched without you. 
If Alice were only strong and healthy like other 
women, I should say — ” 

He stopped at this juncture, as though ashamed to 
speak the words, as well he might be, and after a 
while she asked softly — 

“ What would you say, Alan ? ” 

He turned towards her passionately. 

11 1 should say, ‘ Come away at once, Cora, and 
end this life of torture, and begin a new one with me 
at the other side of the world.’ Would you — would 
you ? ” 

“ It would be so wrong,” she whispered. 

“ O ! hang that. Everything is wrong when a 
man’s heart has once gone a-straying. The question 
is, what else can we do ? " 

“We must have patience. Things may right 
themselves before long, and you must not bring an 
open scandal on the name of Chichester. Some 
day,” she said with a downward glance, ‘ some day 
you may have children to inherit it from you. 
Meanwhile ” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


145 


“ Meanwhile, I suppose you are going to offer me 
your friendship as a stop-gap; after the manner of 
women, but I won’t accept it from you.” 

“ O ! not my friendship,” she cried impetuously, 
“but my love, Alan, my faithful and devoted love, to 
solace you, if it can solace you, under the trials you 
must pass through.” 

It sounded like a genuine outburst of feeling, and 
Sir Alan responded to it fervently. All remembrance 
of the pale, sickly wife at home faded from his mind, 
as he seized the hand of the ardent creature who 
rode beside him, and believed he had found a panacea 
against loneliness and disappointment. 

“And if” he said, half bashfully, as though 
ashamed of saying it — as, after a mutual confession 
of regard and life-long fidelity, they rode on towards 
Battersby — "if it is ever possible for me to requite 
your goodness, Cora, and place you in the position 
you deserve, you know — do you not — that I shall 
do my duty by you ? ” 

They jested and laughed with -each other, after 
having arrived at so satisfactory a conclusion, much 
after the fashion of two newly engaged lovers, and 
every word that Cora Murray spoke seemed to 
rivet her chain still faster round Sir Alan Chichester. 
But, in the midst of their self-gratulation, the thought 
of his sister’s remarks came like a cold douche. 

“We shall have to be very, very careful,” observed 
Cora, “ for your sister hates me, Alan. I have told 
you so from the beginning. She watches my actions 
like a cat, and I am sure she meant a great deal 
more than she said in her remark this morning.” 


146 


A SCARLET SIN. 


iS She may say what she likes, my dear, so long as 
she doesn’t carry her suspicions to Lady Chichester. 
Not that I think that my wife would believe her. 
You see, Alice has always been devoted to me; she 
thinks I am perfection, and incapable of doing 
wrong. Ah! well,” continued Sir Alan, as a sudden 
sense of his treachery and ingratitude smote him 
between the joints of his armor, “it seems very 
strange that no amount of devotion should serve to 
keep a man straight when a creature like yourself 
comes along. What arts have you used to charm 
me, Cora ? What sorceries have you used to blind 
my eyes and steel my heart against every woman 
but yourself? You are a regular witch, and I am 
at your feet, metaphorically and physically.” 

“But of what use is it, but to make us both 
wretched,” she exclaimed, as though suddenly smit- 
ten with despair. “ The years will roll on and bring 
us no nearer to one another. Would it not have 
been far better if we had never met ? ” 

“They shall bring us nearer, my darling. They 
shall unite us for eternity. Why should we waste 
our lives in vain longing for each other ? Yours has 
not been a happy life hitherto, Cora, from what you 
have told me, and mine was spoilt until you came to 
build it up again. Don’t let us die of thirst when 
the goblet of love is close to our lips.” 

He looked at her eagerly for an answer, and she 
acquiesced, without a remonstrance, to his proposal. 

“ I suppose it is Fate? she sighed pensively, “ and 
we really have no power to avert certain ends. Why 
should Mrs. Jolliffe have selected me from a dozen 


A SCARLET SIN, 


>47 


candidates, and sent me down to Glebe*Royal, instead 
of some woman whose heart was full of another — /, 
with my intense desire to be loved, to meet you , 
whose arms were empty ? If it were not Fate, it is 
the working of some evil fiend whose object is to 
make us both more miserable than we were before.” 

“ Say, rather of some angel, Cora, who took pity 
on our loneliness and brought us together for our 
mutual comfort. 0 ! my darling, you have taken 
twenty years off my age to-day. I feel like a boy 

again, as I was when I But we will not think of 

the past. We will talk only of the happy present 
and all the joy that may wait us in the future. And 
if the time should ever come when I cm seal this 
contract and make you legally mine, you will trust me 
to do it, Cora, will you not ?” 

“ I should indeed be unhappy if I thought you 
would fail in that , Alan, but I know you too well 
already to have any doubts upon the subject. But 
we are on the estate. Pray drop my hand lest we 
should meet some of your tenants.” 

“ It is so hard to let it go,” replied Sir Alan, as he 
pressed it firmly, “ particularly now that I know it will 
some day be my own. Kiss me, Cora, and then we 
will consider the agreement signed and sealed.” 

He threw his arm about her waist, and drawing 
her towards him kissed her several times upon the 
lips. Kissing in lover’s fashion is rather engrossing 
work for the time being, and it is difficult to do two 
things at once and to do them well. However that 
may be, this particular act of kissing lasted sufficiently 
long to enable a pedestrian to turn the corner of the 


148 


A SCARLET SIN. 


lane in which it occurred, and to witness it for her- 
self. Indignation kept her silent during the proceed- 
ing, but she stood her ground manfully, with her 
umbrella stuck in the damp earth, as a support, 
and when Sir Alan and Cora Murray disengaged 
themselves at last, and prepared to settle down 
comfortably in their saddles again, they felt rather 
more startled than pleased to see Miss Chichester in 
the middle of the road staring at them. 


CHAPTER XYI. 

A PAIR OF CULPRITS. 

It was not possible to make any valid excuse for the 
close proximity in which they had been detected, 
but the instincts of her sex made Cora Murray 
immediately bend over her saddlebow, as though she 
had discovered something wrong with the reinSj 
whilst Sir Alan shouted in a voice, which was 
intended to be perfectly at its ease : 

“ Hullo, Anna ! have you come out to welcome 
us home ? ,f 

But Miss Chichester vouchsafed no reply, except 
such as was conveyed by a violent snort of indigna- 
tion, as she turned abruptly from them, and, entering 
the park by a side gate, commenced to stride rapidly 
in the direction of Glebe Royal. 

The culprits glanced at one another in consterna- 
tion, and then Cora tried to pass the matter off as a 


A SCARLET SIN, 


149 


“I don’t envy you, dear boy,” she*said, shaking 
her head archly at Sir Alan. “ You’re in for a scold- 
ing, there’s no doubt of that. Miss Chichester will 
give you a rnauvais quart cCheure as soon as you 
reach home.” 

But the baronet did not laugh. 

“ I wish that was to be the worst of it,” he said 
moodily, “ but I’m afraid our lucky star is not in the 
ascendant, Cora. What on earth can have induced 
Anna to walk in this direction ? She generally stays 
at home all the morning.” 

“ She came to look after us, there’s no doubt of 
that,” replied Miss Murray. “Didn’t I tell you just 
now that her remark at breakfast time meant a great 
deal more than the mere words would imply ? ” 

“ Then it’s all up with us,” said the baronet. 

“ What do you mean ? ” she inquired with a 
startled air. 

“ I mean that she is quite capable of going straight 
to my wife with an account of what she has just 
seen, and you can guess what the consequence of 
that would be. It would half kill Alice. She be- 
lieves so perfectly in my fidelity to her. There has 
never been any question about it through all these 
years, and if she heard of my folly now, just at this 
juncture when she is so ill My God ! if any- 

thing happened to her through it, I should never 
forgive myself.” 

“ Your folly /” repeated Miss Murray, frowning. 
“That is not very complimentary to me." 

“O forgive me, Cora. You know what I mean. 
I love you, but I am married — I can’t get out of that 


150 


A SCARLET SIM . 


fact — and my wife has no suspicion but that I am 
entirely her own in word and deed. If she thought 
otherwise I believe it would break her heart. Let 
us ride home as quickly as we can. I must see my 
sister before she has time to speak to Lady Chi- 
Chester. Excuse my abruptness, but I am half 
distracted. And now, let us be off.” 

He did not say another word, but, putting spurs to 
his horse, set off at a smart gallop, in which she was 
fain to follow him. and did not draw rein until they 
had reached the portals of Glebe Royal. And then 
his first inquiry was, if Miss Chichester had returned 
home. 

“ Thank God ! ” he ejaculated when the answer 
was given in the negative, and as he lifted his hat to 
wipe the perspiration from his brow, Miss Murray 
saw that he had turned quite white with appre- 
hension. 

He lifted her from her horse, with the whisper, 

in time, thank goodness,” and immediately walked 
off to his wife’s room. 

Cora Murray looked after him with a pang of 
envy. She recognized — what so many women have 
done before her — that whatever a married man may 
say or do behind the back of his wife, she holds the 
first and only place in his interest directly there is a 
question concerning the honor of his house and 
name. The legal ties are the only unalienable ties 
after all, and even if a husband is faithless and 
unloving, the woman who bears his name stands as a 
queen on her own hearthstone, to warn off all intru- 
ders that may be distasteful to herself. Sir Alan 


A SCARLET SIN. 


I5i 

“ bounced ” into Lady Chichester’s room, making her 
heart palpitate from the suddenness of his entrance, 
but the smile and the flush with which she welcomed 
him made him feel more guilty than a hundred 
reproaches could have had the power to do. 

“ How are you, my dear?” he said affectionately, 
as he quietly kissed her forehead. 

“ Much better, my darling, almost well,” she an- 
swered brightly; “indeed I cannot imagine w r hy Dr. 
Jolliffe should need a second opinion about me. 
Don’t go to the expense of it, Alan. I am sure it is 
not necessary.” 

“ But though you feel better, Alice, there is great 
room for improvement still, and it is only right we 
should have a first-rate opinion on your case at once. 
I gave Jolliffe permission yesterday to do just as he 
thinks fit.” 

“You think too much about me, my dearest 
husband,” said the sick woman, as she turned her 
fragile little fingers between his. “ I am not worth all 
this care on your part. Yet, if they could make me 
well again, strong enough to join in some of your 
amusements, and be your companion as I used to be, 
what happiness it would afford me.” And she laid 
her lips upon his strong, nervous fingers as she spoke, 
and tenderly kissed them. Sir Alan drew his hand 
away almost roughly. The touch of those loving 
lips stung him like a snake. 

“Yes, yes, darling,” he said hurriedly, “have a 
little patience, and I am sure it will all be right by 
and by. I don’t think Jolliffe thinks half so badly 
of your case as he used to do, in fact he looked so 


*52 


A SCARLET SIN 


sly about it yesterday that I accused him of being 
an old humbug, and only hanging about Glebe 
Royal in order to make up a fat Christmas bill.” 

Lady Chichester was still laughing in her quiet 
way at this very feeble little joke when the door 
opened, and Coras glowing face appeared upon the 
threshold. She had changed her riding habit, and 
was ready to assume her usual duties, but when she 
perceived the baronet was present, she drew back. 

“ I didn’t know Sir Alan was with you,” she said 
apologetically, “ I will come another time.” 

“ No, no, Cora,” exclaimed her ladyship, “come in 
at once, please. I have already been longing to see 
you. I have just been telling my dear husband that 
I feel so well. I half believe I could manage to get 
down to luncheon.” 

“ O, that would be delightful,” cried Miss Murray 
as she knelt on the hearthrug in front of Lady Chi- 
chester’s chair. “ Haven’t I always told your ladyship 
that you would get quite strong some day, and live 
to be an old, old woman to make everybody happy 
around you ! ” 

She looked so earnest as she uttered the pleasant 
prophecy, that Lady Chichester bent forward and 
kissed her forehead, and Cora responded eagerly to the 
embrace. There was something in that caress that 
repulsed Sir Alan. He rose at once, and telling his 
wife that, now she had her companion, he would go 
and look after his own business, he kissed her 
heartily, and prepared to leave the room. But as 
he approached the door, it opened again to admit 
Miss Chichester, attired in her rough tweed ulster 


A SCARLET SIN. 


53 


and “ billycock ” hat, just as she had come in from 
walking. 

“ O ! you’re there, are you ? ” she exclaimed, ad- 
dressing her brother ; “ well, I want to speak to you, 
so come this way.” 

“Don’t you say ‘ good-morning ’ to Alice?” he 
replied, in order to cover his retreat. 

“ Good-morning to Alice ,” repeated his sister, “why, 
of course, I said good-morning to Alice hours ago. 
I don’t walk out of the house directly my meals are 
over, and leave my manners behind me. But my 
business won’t wait, so please come at once.” 

She stalked before him to her own sitting-room, 
and he followed, quietly apprehensive of the coming 
interview. 

Miss Chichester’s room was like herself, hard and 
uncompromising. She would have no such frivolities 
as birds or flowers to strew her carpet with litter, or 
distract her attention, and no easy chairs or sofas to 
encourage indolence. A case of forbidding-looking 
books in stern bindings, a sewing machine that was 
warranted to stitch leather, and a black writing-case 
that might have belonged to a solicitor’s clerk, were 
the only appliances for use or pleasure that she 
allowed herself. All other articles came under the 
heading in her denomination of falfals, and were 
considered utterly unworthy of a sensible woman’s 
consideration. 

Miss Chichester closed the door of her room be- 
hind her with a bang, and motioning her brother to 
one of her black horse-hair chairs, sat down on 
another, with the air of a judge about to try a crimi- 
ng. 


154 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Well ! ” she commenced, “and what have you got 
to say for yourself? ” 

Sir Alan felt as if he were once more the little boy 
of ten years old, who used to stand trembling when 
detected in an offence by his tall sister of twenty, as 
he replied : 

“ About what you saw take place in Horseman 
Lane just now? Well, it was an accident, that’s 
all” 

Miss Chichester glared at him like a dragon. 

“ An accident ! How dare you tell me such a false- 
hood ! I catch a married man kissing a hussy on 
the sly, and he tells me it was an accident. Faugh ! ” 

“You shall not call Miss Murray by that name,” 
returned the baronet, hotly. 

“ I shall call her by what name I choose, sir, and 
she may think herself lucky that I don’t have her 
turned out of the house altogether. And if it wasn’t 
for Alice I would.” 

“Anna, you will not say anything about the 
matter before Alice,” he said imploringly. 

“No, I shall not, but not for your sake, or Miss 
Murray’s — for I’d like to see you both whipped at a 
cart’s tail — but for Alice herself. Why, it would kill 
the poor girl. I’m disgusted with you.” 

“I’m not sure that I’m not disgusted with myself,” 
said Sir Alan humbly, “but it would be difficult to 
explain to you, Anna, the temptations that assail a 
man. One might not think of such a thing unless the 
opportunity occurred, but when one is placed in 
juxtaposition with a very pretty woman, one may 
happen to forget oneself#” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


155 


“Pretty fiddlesticks,” cried Miss Chichester. “I 
never could see the pleasure of kissing myself, but if 
you must kiss somebody, haven’t you got Alice and 
me?” 

He was too nervous even to laugh. 

“ I forgot Alice for the time being, I acknowledge, 
and I am very sorry for it. But it shall not happen 
again, Anna. I will place a better guard over myself 
for the future.” 

“ I hope you will, and give up riding about lonely 
lanes with that hussy. And what are you going to 
do about her, pray ? Is she to remain in this house 
after having outraged my feelings in that abandoned 
manner ? ” 

“ What alternative do you propose ? We can't 
send Miss Murray away from Glebe Royal without 
causing great annoyance, if not danger, to Alice. 
You know how she depends on her for everything. 
I believe it would throw her back altogether if she 
were to lose her now.” 

“You’re right, Alan, and I wonder what it would 
do for Alice to be made aware of your infidelity to 
her.” 

“ Don’t talk of it. You know I would save her 
from the knowledge at any cost.” 

“ You won’t have to be faithful to her long — that’s 
my opinion.” 

“Anna, what do you mean ? ” 

“Just what I say. That fool Jolliffe can’t make 
head or tail of her case, and has to call in another 
fool to help him. That is why I walked towards 
Horseman Lane to meet you this morning. He 


A SCARLET SIN. 


156 

came here directly after you had left to say he had 
received a telegram from the London doctor to say 
he would be down at Glebe Royal at three o’clock 
this afternoon.” 

“ So soon ! I had no idea Jollifife would be so 
prompt, though I gave him leave yesterday to act in 
the matter as he thought fit. Anna, why is a con- 
sultation necessary ? Is there going to be an opera- 
tion, or anything dreadful of that sort ?” 

“ I don’t know, but I fear so. There’s evidently 
something altogether wrong. Any fool could see 
that for himself.” 

" My poor wife ! How will she stand it, so frail 
and delicate as she has always been I The very 
prospect will be enough to kill her. O Anna, I 
have been very wrong. I have forgotten lately how 
much poor Alice has suffered in the past, how soon 
we may be parted in the future. But believe me, I 
have been only thoughtless, not wicked, and if God 
spares her to me, I will never do anything again 
that I should be ashamed to go and tell her.” 

“ That’s what you men always say. Out of sight 
is out of mind with you. But I’m glad you feel so, 
Alan. I should have been very much ashamed of 
my brother if he had not, for there’s no doubt about 
it that Alice is very ill, and this afternoon will decide 
the matter, one way or the other.” 

Sir Alan sat for a few minutes with his face in his 
hands, thinking, and then he said sadly: 

“ I feel as if there were a death in the house 
already. I dread the arrival of this specialist. I 
shall feel like a man about to be hung whilst he is 


A SCAT? LET SW. 


»57 


making his decision. But, whatever* it may be, 
whether for life or death, I shall take Alice away, 
Anna, to Mentone or Italy, and spend a few months 
with her alone. Don’t you think it will be a good 
plan ? The business of the estate and the kennels 
occupy one so.” 

“ If the doctors will let you,” said his sister grimly, 
“ but her disease may not admit of traveling. How- 
ever, we mustn’t meet trouble half way. Let us 
wait and hear what they have to say for themselves. 
And I must go and tell the cook to have a meal of 
some sort prepared for the fool who has to go back 
to London. Fifty pounds for just coming down to 
look at a woman. Ridiculous! And when I dare 
say he doesn’t know any more about it than I do.” 

And in her indignation at the specialist’s fee, Miss 
Chichester left the room without discharging another 
shaft at the head of Cora Murray. 


158 


A SCARLET SIN. 


CHAPTER XVII. 

AN UNMITIGATED SURPRISE. 

That was a very dull .and portentous morning at 
Glebe Royal. Sir Alan sat in the library, smoking 
moodily, and glancing every now and then at the 
clock to see how the time went. Miss Chichester 
shut herself up in her own room, and refused to dis- 
cuss the subject of the approaching consultation with 
anyone. Even the servants (who dearly loved their 
gentle little mistress) were infected with the general 
depression, and spoke in whispers as they met on the 
landings. And, worst of all, Lady Chichester herself, 
who had been so unusually bright and cheerful that 
morning, took alarm as soon as she was told that the 
specialist had really been telegraphed for, and re- 
mained in her dressing-room, a mute picture of misery, 
patiently awaiting the dreaded arrival of the doctors. 

Miss Murray was the only one who held up under 
the circumstances, and calmed Lady Chichester’s 
fears by so many cheerful and sensible arguments 
that Alice said — both at the time, and afterwards — 
that she did not know what she would have done 
without her. The great specialist came punctually 
to his appointment. He valued his time at so much 
a minute, and could not afford to get behind-hand 
with his engagements. Dr. Jolliffe went down to the 


A SCARLET SLAT. 


*59 


station in the baronet’s carriage to meet his celebrated 
confrere. Sir Alan went into the hall to receive him 
when he reached Glebe Royal. Dr. Mark Norman 
was a middle-aged man, bald, short-sighted and serious- 
looking, as befitted one whose life was spent in pro- 
nouncing the doom of his fellow creatures. He 
bowed gravely in return to the baronet’s salutation, 
and refused to take any of the refreshments provided 
for him. 

“No need, I assure you, Sir Alan. I lunched be- 
fore starting. A glass of wine afterwards perhaps, 
but nothing at present. With your leave, I will ask 
Dr. Jollifife to conduct me at once to our patient. I 
conclude she is ready to receive me.” 

“Quite ready, Dr. Norman. This young lady, 
Miss Murray, who is her companion, will show you 
the way to her room.” 

And then he waved his hand towards Cora Mur- 
ray, who stood on the staircase, and with a face the 
color of ashes walked back into his study and re- 
signed himself to be miserable. 

Miss Murray, having tripped upstairs before the 
doctors, and ushered them into the presence of Lady 
Chichester, who was as white as a lily with appre- 
hension, descended to the library again, with a view 
to consoling the baronet. She found him sitting in 
a chair, with his arms thrown out over the table, and 
his head pressed down against them, as though he 
would fain have shut out every sound that might 
reach him from the upper rooms. Cora walked up 
to his side and laid her hand upon his arm. 


i6o 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Now, Sir Alan, I will not have you anticipate 
evil. Hope for the best, the London doctor’s opinion 
may be quite different from what we expect.” 

“ Please go away,” he answered, without raising 
his head. “ I wish to be alone.” 

It was a decided rebuff, but she would not accept 
it as such. 

“You mustn’t speak to me like that, dear,” she 
whispered, softly, as she laid her head against his 
own; “have you forgotten that I love you, and should 
never urge you to anything unless I thought it was 
for your good ? ” 

“ Good heavens ! ” he exclaimed, jumping up sud- 
denly, and beginning to walk up and down the room. 
“ Can’t you see how I am suffering ? My brain is on 
fire. Leave me to myself, for goodness sake, until 
this miserable suspense is ended one way or the 
other.” 

“And don’t you think that / must suffer too?” 
she asked, with a faltering voice- 

“ I don’t know. I know nothing, except that my 
wife’s fate is in the balance — that her life is perhaps 
at stake — and I have no heart to remember anything 
else. Don’t worry me any longer.” 

“ O ! indeed, then I think it must be time for me 
to go,” replied Miss Murray, with an offended air as 
she left the room. But the baronet did not heed her 
mood, nor her departure. He wanted nothing at 
that moment except for the harrowing suspense in 
which he was plunged to be over, and to hear for 
certain what he had to contend against in the future, 
and whether Alice would live or die. As he sat 


A SCARLET SZ/f. 161 

there mute and motionless, or stalked up and down 
the library floor in agony of waiting* the thought of 
his wife, as she had been when he married her — a 
tender, delicate girl — kept recurring to his mind, and 
making him shudder as he dreaded what might lie 
before her now, that dainty, fragile darling whom 
once he had almost worshipped. His sister looked 
in upon him occasionally, but she brought him no 
comfort. The two medical men were closeted with 
Lady Chichester and Jane Wood. They wouldallow 
no one else in the room, and she had been unable to 
gather anything from listening at the door. They 
seemed very quiet, they were not talking much, she 
did not think there could be anything very serious. 

“ But perhaps the case needs no discussion. It 
may be too pre-evident,” argued the unhappy hus- 
band, “ and they are afraid to tell us the truth too 
suddenly.” 

“ Nonsense,” exclaimed his more strong-minded 
sister. “ Do you suppose they’d care a pin for our 
feelings, when their time is their money ? We must 
have the truth, sooner or later, and to my mind the 
sooner the better. But hark ! They have opened 
the door, and are coming downstairs. Now, Alan, 
my dear,” she continued, clapping him suddenly on 
the back, “ be a man and bear whatever they may 
have to tell you bravely.” 

The baronet stood up at once, and dashed his hand 
across his eyes. Englishmen are so falsely ashamed 
of being detected in giving way to anything like 
sentiment or emotion, even though the cause may 
be an honorable one. But his face twitched visibly 

11 


A SCARLET SIM 


162 

as the medical men entered the room together, and 
carefully closed the door behind them. 

“You have arrived at some conclusion, I hope,” he 
said, with a sickly smile, as they approached him, 
“ and — and — I should be glad to learn what it is as 
quickly as possible.” 

“ Pray don’t pull such a long face about it, Sir 
Alan!” exclaimed Dr. Jolliffe, smiling, “we do not 
bring you bad news by any manner of means.” 

“ Not bad news ? ” he echoed, faintly. 

“ I think not, Dr. Norman — eh, sir ? ” 

“ I think not,” reiterated Dr. Norman. 

Sir Alan sat down again. 

“ Pray let me hear the worst or the best at once,” 
he said, “'you do not know the suspense I have been 
suffering.” 

“ Of course, of course, naturally,” replied the great 
specialist, slowly rubbing his hands. “Well, lam 
happy to be able to assure you, Sir Alan, that our 
fears (in one direction at least) are unfounded. My 
good friend here, Dr. Jolliffe, was led to imagine (or 
rather I should say to fear), from a course of symptoms 
which might portend very different issues, but which 
from various circumstances connected with the case 
he was quite justified in supposing pointed to a cer- 
tain end, that her ladyship might have to undergo a 
very serious operation.” 

“Yes, yes, yes,” responded the baronet, fever- 
ishly, “ but what is your own opinion ? ” 

“ Dr. Norman is coming to that — eh, sir ? ” inter- 
posed Dr. Jolliffe, still broadly smiling. 

“ Certainly,” replied the great authority, evidently 
not over pleased at the interruption. “ Under these 


A SCARLET SIN. . 163 

circumstances, Sir Alan, my friend, Dr. Jolliffe, al- 
though he had really made up his mind respecting 
Lady Chichester’s condition, considered it advisable 
to have a second opinion, before he made the truth 
known to yourself.” 

“And Dr. Norman, I am happy to say, entirely 
coincides with my own views on the matter,” said 
Dr. Jolliffe. 

“ Certainly ! There is not the least doubt about 
it.” 

“Yes, yes — ” repeated the impatient husband, 
“ and your decision, doctor ? ” 

“ My decision agrees with Dr. Jolliffe’s previous 
opinion, Sir Alan, that Lady Chichester’s symptoms 
are all dependent upon one cause. She is about to 
make you at no very distant period — a father.” 

The baronet dropped into his chair as if he had 
been shot. 

“ What ? ” ne exclaimed, incredulously. 

“A father,” repeated Dr. Jolliffe, seizing him by 
the hand ; “ my dear Sir Alan, I would have told it you 
weeks ago, had I not been so much afraid of raising 
hopes, only to disappoint them again. But now, let 
me congratulate you on the happy event. I know 
it is the one thing needed to make your married life 
complete, and, please God, you will see it realized 
before three months are over your head.” 

The baronet stared at him in a dazed fashion for a 
few moments, and then, dragging his hand away, hid 
his face from view and gave vent to his emotion 
unseen. 

Miss Chichester was almost as affected as her 

brother. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


164 

“You are sure,” she cried, excitedly, “that you 
know what you are talking about, Dr. Jollifle. This 
is not some mare’s nest of your own finding, I hope. 
I suppose you know Alice’s age ? She was forty 
last birthday, and it isn’t often women begin to have 
families at that time. You wouldn’t trifle with such 
a subject, I hope, and make us believe there’s an heir 
coming to Glebe Royal when it’s all moonshine.” 

“ I can’t swear it will be an heir. Miss Chichester,” 
said the doctor. u But heir or heiress, it is coming 
sure enough, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t 
be followed by two or three more. Anyway, it’s the 
truth, and the sooner you begin to make the bibs 
and tuckers the better.” 

“ God bless her,” exclaimed Miss Chichester, fer- 
vently. “I’ll forgive her everything she’s ever, done 
after this.” 

“ She’s never done anything that requires forgive- 
ness,” said the baronet, brightly, as he stood up and 
tried to pull himself together. “ We owe you incal- 
culable thanks, Dr. Norman, for this unexpected and 
wonderful piece of news. It would be impossible for 
me to tell you what I feel at its reception. It will 
transform the whole of my future life. But you 
must be ready now for a little refreshment. Pray 
come into the dining-room. And I feel as if a brandy 
and soda would do me no harm,” he continued, slap- 
ing his chest, as though to assure himself that he was 
really awake. 

“ A glass of wine, Sir Alan — nothing but a glass 
of wine,” replied Dr. Norman, looking at his watch, 
for I must catch the five o’clock train.” 


A SCARLET SIN. . 165 

“ The carriage is waiting to come round whenever 
you may order it,” replied the baronet. 

‘‘At once then, my dear sir — at once,” said the 
specialist, and five minutes after he had pocketed 
his fee (Sir Alan had never written a cheque with 
such heartfelt pleasure before), shaken hands all 
round, and driven off to the station. 

As soon as he was gone, the baronet looked at his 
old friend again with humid eyes. 

“ Jolliffe,” he said, “can it really be true ? I feel 
as if I were in a dream. To have suffered such a 
torture of suspense on her account, and then to be 
told that it will end in that, of which we had given 
up all hope years and years ago ! It is incredible.” 

“ I daresay it seems so to you, Sir Alan, but never- 
theless it is true. But now I must give you a caution. 
You mustn’t make too much of it before Lady Chi- 
chester. I cannot have her excited. Let her be 
peacefully and calmly happy, and all will go well/’ 

“ Does she know it ? Did you tell her ? ” 

“ Certainly ! the very first thing. She would have 
died of fright else.” 

“ And how did she take it, Jolliffe ? ” 

“ Very much like yourself. I don’t think she be- 
lieved it at first, but she does now.” 

“ I must go to her. My poor Alice ! To think 
that all her patience and her suffering should be 
rewarded like this.” 

“ It will be a reward indeed. Fancy a fine, stout, 
little fellow riding over the estate on his pony by 
your side, Sir Alan. It won’t be long first, you know, 
and I shouldn’t be in the least surprised, as I told 


A SCARLET SIN. 


1 66 

your sister just now, if he had four or five little 
brothers and sisters coming after him. Lady Chi- 
chester having commenced to walk in the right way, 
may go on triumphantly to the end.” 

And Dr. Jolliffe laughed uproariously at his own 
wit, in which the baronet was quite ready to join him. 

“Alan!” exclaimed Miss Chichester, suddenly, 
“we must call him ‘Geoffry’ after our father. I 
won’t have any other name, unless you like to add 
your own to it.” 

“ It’s rather early to decide upon his name,” replied 
her brother, smiling. 

“ I don’t know that. Everything will have to be 
marked, you know. I suppose you don’t intend the 
heir to Glebe Royal to come into the world without 
a shirt to his back. However, you men know nothing 
about such things.” 

“ I only know one thing now, Anna, that I am 
happier than I ever expected to be, and I must go 
and tell my Alice so. Good-bye, Jolliffe, and God 
bless you. You won’t see me again this afternoon.” 

He ran upstairs as he spoke, and encountered Miss 
Murray on the landing. 

“ Have the doctors gone ? ” she inquired, with a 
long face, “ and what is their verdict ? I hope — I 
hope it is not so bad as we expected, Sir Alan.” 

Her appearance brought back an unpleasant 
memory with it, but he was too overjoyed to feel 
vexed, even with himself. 

“ It’s not bad at all,” he answered, smiling, “ in fact, 
we’re all delighted with it. Go and ask Miss Chi' 
Chester.” 


A SCARLET SIN. • 167 

“ Cannot I accompany you to her ladyship’s 
room ? She may require my services.” 

“ No, no, not now. She requires no one but 
me, and we do not wish to be disturbed,” he said, as 
he dashed past her to his wife’s room, and left her 
standing there with a deep frown upon her brow. 



■ 


X68 


A SCARLET SIN, 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE RENEWAL OF HAPPINESS. 

Lady Chichester, robed in a pale-tinted gown, that 
suited her delicate appearance, and with a French 
lace cap on her head, was seated before the fire, lost 
in a blissful reverie, whilst Jane Wood, with a look 
of proud importance or her face, was moving the 
articles on the toilet table in a vague manner, as if 
she didn’t half know what she was doing. 

“ Now, didn’t I always teil your ladyship that 
things would come right some dav,' she was saying ; 
“ and so they would have done, years and years ago, 
if you would only have taken your poor old nurse’s 
advice.” 

But here she was interrupted in her exordium by 
the entrance of Sir Alan, who rushed in like an im- 
petuous school-boy, and throwing himself at his wife’s 
feet, clasped both his arms around her figure. Jane 
Wood needed no hint that she had better leave them 
to themselves. She just gave a glance at the baronet’s 
attitude, and hobbled off into the next room, with 
her old eyes filled with tears. 

“ Alice ! ” exclaimed Sir Alan, as soon as they were 
alone together, “ Alice ! my own dear wife.” 

Lady Chichester looked at the glowing eyes raised 
to her face, and read in them an expression which 
she had not seen for years. It seemed as if the weary 


A SCARLET SLAT. 


169 


interval had magically slidden away, and they were 
once more a boy and girl, madly in love with each 
other and looking forward to a life of unmitigated 
happiness, and her new-found joy could only find 
vent in tears, as she replied : 

“ O Alan ! I am so thankful.” 

“ Thankful, dear ! Thankful is no name for it. I 
am half-intoxicated with this sudden news. After 
having dreaded the suffering that might lie before 
you, to hear that it is to end in this supreme happi- 
ness is almost too much. And the surprise of it has 
taken my breath away. And so this weary hoping, 
and waiting, and being disappointed is to have its 
regard at last. What do you think of it, Alice ? ” 

“ What do /think of it, my darling husband ? That 
I would die a thousand deaths sooner than it should 
not take place. Fancy a child of our very, very own. 
A baby with my darling’s hair, and eyes, and mouth. 
O ! I cannot believe it. It is too good to be true.” 

“ And you have never suspected the truth, Alice ? ” 
' Never ! It has been as complete a revelation to 
me as to yourself. But Dr. Norman says there is 
not the slightest doubt of it, and if I were not in such 
delicate health, I should have discovered it long ago. 
But I was so persuaded that I had some terrible 
disease that would eventually end my life, Alan, that 
my thoughts never wandered in any other direction.” 

“ We have been a set of ignorant boobies, Alice, 
but we shall be wiser next time, eh, my darling ? ” 
His happy, confident manner and affectionate 
tones brought a flush into Lady Chichester’s face, 
and a sparkle to her eye, that seemed to take ten 
years off her age at once. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


170 

“ O Alan ! ” she sighed, ‘ I’m afraid I don’t deserve 
such a blessing, for 1 have been very wicked some- 
times. I have almost blamed the Almighty for with- 
holding from me what every other woman seemed to 
enjoy, and I have envied the mothers I met, until 
the rest of my life has not seemed worth having to 
me. And sometimes — sometimes — ” 

“ Sometimes what , my Alice ? ” inquired the 
baronet, who was rather calmer by this time, and 
had taken a seat by her side. 

“ You mustn’t be angry with me, Alan, for saying 
so, for I know it was only my own wicked feelings 
that prompted the idea, but sometimes I have even 
fancied that you had wearied of me, because I had 
borne you no children, and had fallen into such a 
stupid state of health that I could go about with you 
nowhere, and that when you looked at other women, 
younger and stronger than myself, you remembered 
the disappointment I had been to you, and almost 
wished that it was all over, and you could choose 
again. I only fancied it you know, darling,” con- 
tinued Lady Chichester, timidly, as she watched her 
husband’s head droop lower at her words. “ I knew 
that you were far too good and kind to dream of such 
a thing in reality, only a wife who has no children 
feels herself to be a mistake, and cannot help think- 
ing that others must feel the same.” 

Sir Alan could not answer the tender, little appeal 
for some moments, his guilty conscience rapped so 
loudly at the door, and when he did, he carefully 
avoided treading over the same ground. 

“ My dearest Alice,” he said, “ do you remember 


A SCARLET SILL. 


171 

the day I brought you home to Glebe Royal as my 
wife ? ” 

“ Remember it ! O Alan ! Do you think I have 
forgotten a single thing that took place at that time, 
though it is twenty years ago.” 

“ Twenty years ago,” he repeated ; “ we might, had 
Heaven pleased, had a son as tall as myself by this 
time, but we shall love the rascal all the more, dear, 
for having kept us waiting for so long. Twenty 
years ago ! What a sweet, fair, tender darling you 
were then, and how I worshipped you ! Do you 
think such love can fade in reality ? I know that, as 
the years go on, and we grow accustomed to the 
blessings of this life, we are apt to make less of them, 
but it is only in seeming, Alice. The chance of los- 
ing them makes us aware how dear they are to us still, 
as the dread of to-day’s consultation made me feel 
about you. Don’t talk to me again as you did just 
now, it hurts me terribly. I have not been so good 
a husband to you as I should, perhaps, but I have 
never really wanted any other woman but yourself. 
And for the future, I don’t know how I shall be able 
to make enough of you. We will think that we have 
just been married, my darling, and starting on life’s 
journey together.” 

Lady Chichester clasped her little hand tightly in 
that of her husband. She didn’t know how to ex- 
press all that she felt for him. 

“ I have left you too much to yourself,” continued 
Sir Alan, “ because I thought you were too weak to 
take any interest in my sports or occupations. But 
I will do so no longer. If you cannot go out with 


172 


A SCARLET S/M 


me, we will stay at home together. You shall neve? 
have to complain of my inattention again.” 

“ 0 Alan ! I never have complained of it,” ex' 
claimed Alice, earnestly, “and it would be most sel- 
fish of me to wish to keep you indoors because my 
strength will not permit me to go out. I will not 
hear of it. Dr. Norman says I am to continue my 
drives and walks as usual, and to lie on the sofa as 
little as possible, and there is always Cora to go with 
me. Dear Cora, she has been so good to me to-day, 
keeping up my spirits till the doctors came. I don’t 
know what I should have done without her. Does 
she know the great news, Alan ? Have you told 
her ? ” 

“ No. I only saw her fora minute on the staircase 
as I came up to your room. But she is not one of 
ourselves, Alice. It is no business of hers, though 
doubtless all Glebe Royal will know it before night. 
Anna is nearly crazy with delight at the prospect of 
an heir, and old Jane seems the same.” 

“ Poor old Jane cried like a child when she heard 
the doctor’s decision. She has always sympathized 
so much in my disappointment. But I should like 
dear Cora to know it, I am sure she will be glad, for 
my sake and your’s.” 

“ Well, we can hardly expect Miss Murray to feel 
like ourselves on the subject, particularly as the 
advent of the little stranger will, I suppose, sound the 
keynote of her own departure. Don’t you think 
you could dispense with her services now, Alice ? I 
intend to be your companion for the future, and drive 
and walk with you, and I really don’t see what use 
Miss Murray will be under the circumstances.” 


A SCARLET S/M 


173 


Lady Chichester’s eyes beamed with delight at her 
husband’s proposition, but she would not consent to 
part with her companion. 

“ Send Cora away, dear Alan, and just now when 
we are all so happy ? O ! that would be unkind to 
both her and me. I want Cora for a thousand little 
things that you can’t do for me. Fancy, my asking 
a dear, old, blundering darling like you to sort my 
silks and wools, or write my letters, and read aloud 
to me. It would make us both miserable. No, dear 
Alan, you must not ask me to part with Cora, for 
she has become quite necessary to me. She is just 
like a younger sister, and no one, not even you, could 
fill her place. And just now, too, when my mind 
will be full of all the preparations I must make for 
this wonderful event, I shall want her advice and 
her assistance more than ever.” 

“ But afterwards, Alice — when you have the baby 
— you won’t want her then surely ? Is she to be a 
fixture in the house for ever ? ” 

“ No, perhaps not afterwards ,” said his wife in a 
dreamy tone, and then, as though waking up, she 
continued, more briskly, “ Don’t let us talk of after- 
wards , , Alan. The present is enough happiness for 
me. The future seems almost too much.” 

At this juncture Miss Chichester asked for ad- 
mittance at the door. Her speech was rough and 
brusque as usual, but there was an evident feeling 
underlying it that robbed it of any power to wound. 

“Well, Alice, my dear,” she said, with a fierce 
peck at her sister-in-law’s cheek, “ and so you’re go- 
ing to do your duty at last. I’m very glad to hear 


174 


A SCARLET SLAT. 


it. Glebe Royal won’t be the same place when we 
have a son and heir scampering all over it. I have 
told Alan he must be called ‘ Geoffry ’ after our 
father, and you mustn’t try and persuade him out of 
it. It will be our child, you know, a great deal more 
than yours. It will be a Chichester, with our nose, 
most likely, and our mouth — at least I sincerely hope 
so — and so you mustn’t get any absurd ideas into 
your head about his belonging to your family, and 
give him a lot of names that the Chichesters never 
heard of.” 

“ Dear Anna,” replied Lady Chichester, smiling, 
“ I care for nothing so long as he comes, and you and 
Alan may call him what you like.” 

“ But I won’t have Alice worried on that or any 
other subject,” exclaimed the baronet, rising ; “ you 
remember what Jolliffe said, Anna, that she is not to 
be excited. And now, my darling, what do you 
wish to do this evening ? Are you too tired to come 
down into the dining-room, and shall I send your 
dinner up here ? ” 

“ By no means, Alan. Directly I heard the good 
news, my sickness seemed to fall from me like a 
mantle. I know what it all means now. I have no 
longer any fears to contend against, and I shall grow 
stronger every day. If you will leave me to Anna 
and Jane for half an hour, I will change my dress in 
time for dinner.” 

He kissed and left her, still buoyantly pleased, 
but yet already sufficiently accustomed to the event 
looming in the future to enable him to feel a great 
deal of annoyance at what had occurred between 


4 SCARLET SIN. 


175 


himself and Cora Murray. How could he have been 
such a fool, he kept on asking himself, as the un- 
pleasant memory cropped up in his mind, and above 
all, what attitude could he assume towards her now ? 
To continue the course of folly he had so thought- 
lessly begun, with the revulsion of feeling he had 
experienced, was impossible to him, for if Sir Alan 
Chichester was a weak man, he was not a wicked 
one. His affection for his wife had been deadened, 
not destroyed, and her new prospects had revived it 
in a measure which astonished himself. He had 
not proved strong enough to resist the temptation 
offered by a very charming woman bent upon his 
conquest, but he was not prepared to carry on a 
double game when his fault had become apparent to 
him, and, strange to say, all desire to do so had sud- 
denly evaporated. He could think of nothing but 
the promised heir, and the want of gratitude he had 
shown to her who was the mother of it. Had it 
been feasible, he would have sent Cora Murray away 
from Glebe Royal then and there, and never seen 
her again. But it was not feasible, Alice strongly 
objected to the proposal. She loved her young 
friend, and would not consent to part with her un- 
less for some stringent reason. And Cora would nut 
be, he imagined, incapable of taking her revenge, if 
dismissed in order to conceal his misdoings. She 
was a clever woman. She would guess the cause, 
and might even reveal it to Lady Chichester. His 
treachery to his wife might revolve on his own head 
by injuring her, and pqrhaps even the long-expected 
heir. No, it was impossible. At all risks, Miss Mur- 


A SCARLET SM. 


I76 

ray must remain at Glebe Royal until Lady Chi- 
chester herself consented to her departure, and 
meanwhile he must keep the peace with both 
women. It was an unpleasant predicament to be 
placed in, but, so far as Sir Alan could see, it was 
unavoidable. The only plan to be pursued was to 
behave cordially to Miss Murray on all occasions, 
and carefully to avoid being left alone with her. Act- 
ing on this principle, the baronet entering the library 
a minute afterwards, and seeing the lady sitting there 
with a book, smiled pleasantly, and said, 

“ Of course you’ve heard the grand news, that we 
are to have bonfires and bell-ringings in Glebe Royal 
before we’re many months older, eh ? A wonderful 
ending to all our apprehensions, isn’t it ? I suppose 
the little hamlet will go off its head when the event 
really occurs.” 

“Yes, if it does,” replied Miss Murray, without 
raising her eyes from her book. 

The baronet’s face fell. 

“ But why should you say that f ” 

“ Not to frighten you, you may depend on it. But 
these events are always uncertain you know, and her 
ladyship’s health is so delicate that I should not like 
to make too sure, for fear of a disappointment.” 

“ But Jolliffe says she will get stronger every day 
now,” said Sir Alan, irresolutely. 

“ Will she ? I am very glad to hear it,” replied 
Miss Murray, still intent on her book. 

The baronet saw he was not yet forgiven for his 
brusque behavior of the morning, and, turning on his 
heel, left the apartment without another word. 


A SCARLET SILT. 


*77 


CHAPTER XIX. 

BETWEEN TWO FIRES. 

When Sir Alan met his wife again, radiant in the 
pride of her new position, his temporary annoyance 
vanished, and he found it an easy task to make him- 
self generally agreeable at the dinner table. But 
when he joined the ladies in the drawing-room, and 
Lady Chichester seemed to expect him to renew the 
devotion he had exhibited towards her during the 
afternoon, under the very eyes of Cora Murray, the 
baronet commenced to feel shy. He sat at the foot 
of his wife’s sofa, it is true, playing with the ribbons 
of her dress, whilst he conversed with her in a low 
tone, but he felt very guilty when Miss Murray 
suddenly turned round and detected him holding 
Lady Chichester’s hand, or looking in her eyes as if 
he loved her. Poor Alice had no idea why he should 
jerk his hand away without any visible reason and 
color like a school-boy as he lowered his gaze, but her 
husband felt very uncomfortable all the same, and as 
if he were placed between two fires, at one of which 
he was sooner or later to be well roasted. He stood 
his ground, however, manfully, until Lady Chichester 
expressed a desire to move, and then he insisted 
upon accompanying her to her own room, and seeing 
her safely delivered into the hands of Jane Wood. 

12 


i7« 


A SCARLET SW. 


He was congratulating himself, as he came downstairs 
again, that he had escaped the inevitable roasting, at 
least for that night, and would have a little more 
time to consider how he should get out of the scrape 
he found himself in, when he ran straight up against 
Miss Murray with her handkerchief held to her eyes. 
The sight struck him with remorse. Bright, viva- 
cious, high-spirited Cora Murray weeping ! It 
seemed incredible, and yet his conscience told him 
who was the author of her grief, and he felt it would 
be unmanly, nay, brutal, to leave her in such a 
predicament without inquiring the cause. So he 
stopped short, and said, 

“ Cora ! what ails you ? What is the matter ? ” 

“ O ! leave me, leave me,” she replied, passing by 
him to her little sitting-room on the landing, “it is 
the only thing you can do now.” 

But the words seemed like a challenge to follow, 
and accordingly he entered with her, and closed the 
door behind them. Miss Murray sank into a chair 
and began sobbing in real earnest with mingled 
mortification and anger. 

“ Don’t cry, pray don’t cry, Miss Chichester may 
hear you,” the baronet kept repeating, as he stood 
by her side and essayed to dry her tears. But Cora 
dashed the handkerchief away. 

“Why should you care?” she exclaimed passion- 
ately, “ whether I cry or not ? What is it to you ? 
Go back to your wife and leave me to myself. I am 
nobody in your estimation now,” 

“You are very much mistaken,” replied Sir Alan, 
soothingly. “ I esteem and admire you as much as 


A SCARLET SIN. 


*79 


ever I did, and I am glad to have an opportunity to 
tell you so. For I feel that I have done you an 
injury, Cora, for which I ought to ask your pardon, 
and I hope you will grant it to me.” 

“ I don't understand you, Sir Alan.” 

“ I mean that I should never have spoken to you 
as I did this morning, that my feelings got the 
better of my discretion, and I took a mean advantage 
of the position I found myself in. I owe you an 
apology for the affront, and I tender it humbly. 
Will you forgive me ? ” 

Miss Murray raised her face from the shelter of her 
hands, and gazed at him fixedly. 

“Then you didn’t mean what you said?” she 
exclaimed ; “you were trying to make a fool of me, 
Sir Alan?” 

“No, no. How can you think so basely of me?” 

“If your words were true, why apologize for 
them ? ” 

“ Because words, even if true, are often better left 
unsaid. Because, since they can never be anything 
but words, it was a cruelty both to you and myself 
to utter them, and I am ashamed to think I had not 
more control over my feelings.” 

“You have certainly changed your opinion in 
many respects since this morning. Then , if I remem- 
ber rightly, I was an angel, sent by heaven to console 
you in your loneliness. Now , you have the prospect 
of being no longer lonely, and the angel is not 
needed. Is not that the real truth, Sir Alan ? ” 

Her sarcasm stung him to the quick. 

“By heavens! no, Cora. You do me a great 
injustice. I was very imprudent, but I meant every 


8o 


A SCARLET SIN. 


word I said, I do not know how to thank you 
sufficiently for the interest you were good enough to 
express in me, but can I take advantage of it ? Can 
I break up my home, desert my wife and child, and 
make my name a scandal in the county, and all in 
order to ruin an innocent girl like you ? It is 
impossible.’’ 

Cora laughed softly at this tirade. 

“ Certainly not, Sir Alan, and I don’t think we 
talked of such a thing, did we ? However, I quite 
understand your change of tactics. You have had a 
new motive presented to you for being moral, and all 
other considerations fly before it, like chaff before 
the wind.” 

“ Do you blame me for it ? ” he responded eagerly. 
“This morning I seemed to have no one but myself 
to think of, and a frail life that the first breath might 
blow away. To-night, I feel that I am already a 
father, awaiting an event that will bring me an heir 
to my title and estates, a son for me to bring up and 
live for, and probably transform my wife from an 
invalid into a healthy woman. Don’t you see how 
it changes my whole existence at one stroke, and 
makes me feel that I am bound to live a sober and 
respectable life for the future?” 

“ Precisely. I do see it, and that it has changed 
your sentiments for me into the bargain. However, 
they can never have been very strong, if a breath can 
blow them away.” 

She cast her fine eyes upward as she spoke, and 
the glamour of her beauty fell upon him again like an 
evil spell. He knelt down by her side and threw his 
arms around her slender waist, 


A SCARLET SIN. 


181 


“ There you are wrong/’ he said. “ What I felt for 
you this morning, I feel now, and shall never cease 
to feel. But I dare not be so open in expressing it* 
A great issue is at stake for me. The continuation 
of my name and title depends in a manner on my 
wife’s peace of mind, and I must do nothing to upset 
it. You saw what a risk we ran this morning. If 
this piece of news had not turned all our prospects 
topsy-turvy, I verily believe that my sister would 
have carried the story to my wife. Judge what such 
a discovery would do for her now. It would kill her 
and my child into the bargain. Be merciful, Cora, 
and make some allowances for a man’s ambition and 
desire for posterity.” 

“I should care for nothing,” she whispered into 
his ear, “ if I only felt sure that you spoke the truth 
when you said you loved me.” 

“Then, care for nothing,” he answered, kissing 
her, “ for I did speak the truth. Could I have my 
own way at this moment I know where it would 
lead me. But we must be satisfied with the secret 
knowledge of our mutual regard, Cora, for there 
must be no further open expression of it. It is too 
dangerous, both for you and for me.” 

“ Perhaps you would prefer that I should leave 
Glebe Royal,” she said with a sigh. 

“ No, no, don’t think of it. Besides, Alice wouldn’t 
part with you for all the world. You must stay and 
help me in my work. Be her friend, Cora, and keep 
her mind peaceful and at rest, and you will be doing 
me the greatest possible favor.” 

“ I have been her friend,” replied Miss Murray 
weeping. “ I have never omitted to do or say any- 


A SCARLET SIN. 


182 

thing that I thought would please her, and I have 
borne with all Miss Chichester’s coolness and affronts 
without answering a word, because — because — 1 
loved you, Alan.” 

H ow soothing it is to a man’s self-esteem to know 
that two or more women are simply prostrate at his 
feet in silent adoration. It puts him on such good 
terms with himself that he cannot help pitying the 
owners of the affection that is lavished upon him, 
and feeling that he is in duty bound to offer them 
some consolation. More, the very fact of knowing 
he is beloved is pretty sure to work up an answering 
passion in his inflammable nature, until he is not 
sure himself which one of them all he is really in 
love with. Sir Alan Chichester was a very simple- 
hearted country gentleman. He had never mixed 
in the world of fashion and dissipation, and the free 
and easy manner in which the husbands of the nine- 
teenth century trample on all their marital obliga- 
tions was a sealed book to him. He had been 
terribly ashamed all day of the imprudence of which 
he had been guilty during the morning ride, but as 
Cora Murray sobbed out her confession of love to 
him, he felt that he owed her something in return. 

“ I know you have,” he replied emphatically ; “ you 
have been the best and dearest friend Alice has ever 
had, except myself, and no one is better aware of it 
than she is. But I want you to be my friend too, 
Cora. I want you to help me to take care of her, 
and to ward off all annoyances from her, until this 
expected event is over, and you don’t know how I 
shall love you in return. Is it a bargain ? ” 


A SCARLET SW. 




He thought that, by claiming her friendship equally 
for himself and Lady Chichester, he was placing 
a barrier between any warmer feeling on their part, 
and that the woman to whom he had vowed a 
passionate love would be content to aid his kindly 
offices for his wife without any sinister intention in 
doing so. Cora Murray saw through the baronet’s 
design, and smiled at its futility. But at the same 
time she was too clever not to accede to it. A 
refusal on her part at this juncture would have 
caused an irreparable rupture between them. The 
object to be gained was to remain by Sir Alan 
Chichester’s side. If she could not effect that , she 
might as well throw up the sponge altogether. And 
so she put out her hand and said, “ It is a bargain ! ” 
and the baronet raised it to his lips and kissed it 
gratefully. But as he was about to take his leave 
and creep cautiously from the room, Cora gazed at 
him, and he came back again immediately and kissed 
her warmly on the lips. When the door had closed 
after him, she laughed derisively to herself. 

u Friendship ! my dear baronet ! Yes, that’s just 
the sort of friendship you’d like to have with me,” she 
thought. “Now, I wonder if it’s worth my while to 
keep it up with you. This sudden fit of morality is 
all moonshine ; still, if her ladyship intends to live and 
bring you a family, there’ll be no room here for 
me, I see that plainly enough. My sympathy and 
affection was wanted to fill up a gap, but if an heir 
comes, you’ll be too proud of your paternity to risk 
his name or your own. 

“ Now the question is, will your prospective heir 


8 4 


A SCARLET SIN. 


become a certainty ? 1 should say the chances are 

against it. Her ladyship’s age and her extreme 
delicacy are not in her favor. And meanwhile 
Masham’s at the antipodes, and Fauntleroy’s at 
Gibraltar, and I cannot do better than stay on here 
and keep your lukewarm affection simmering, until 
I see how events turn out. You’re like a Kitchener’s 
range. I can always bring you up to the boiling 
heat directly I see fit to do so.” 

Having arrived at this conclusion, Miss Murray 
set to work to behave herself in the most de- 
corous manner, attending closely to Lady Chi- 
chester’s wants, and only reminding the baronet by 
an occasional sigh or love-lorn glance that she had 
ever thought of him in any way but a patron and a 
friend. Her clever tactics threw them all off their 
guard, and especially the man for whom they were 
intended. He became at his ease, and confident in 
his own stability at once. In truth, it only required 
a little reserve on her part to make him so. He 
knew he had been wrong, and he regretted his 
weakness, but, like many others, he had not the 
strength of mind to fight openly with the partner of 
his folly. He wanted to keep the peace with both 
women until Cora Murray should be out of the way, 
an end which he was determined to accomplish as 
soon as it could be accomplished with safety to his 
wife. Meanwhile, Lady Chichester clung to her 
young companion with an unbounded confidence 
that would have been very touching to any one that 
knew the position which they held towards each 
Other, She had become so quietly happy, and even 


A SCARLET SIN. 


185 


merry under the influence of her renewed happiness, 
that she chatted all day, like a rippling water, of the 
past, the present and the future, and laid her inno- 
cent heart bare for the edification or ridicule of her 
hearers. She never tired in those days of telling 
Cora about Sir plan’s courtship, of how they first 
met, and what he said, and how soon he proposed. 
And then the marriage festivities were retailed, and 
old Jane Wood’s memory was called into requisition 
to relate how many guests were present, and what 
the wedding feast consisted of, and what was said of 
the bride, and what of the bridegroom. And. Lady 
Chichester even went so far as to produce certain 
little love letters, written both before and after 
marriage, and to read out all their “darlings” and 
“ dearests ” and “ own beloveds ” for the edification of 
her companion, whose face would turn livid with 
envy and contempt behind the broad smile with 
which she received her ladyship’s confidences. 

“But perhaps I am boring you, dear Cora,” Alice 
would exclaim after a while, “and you will think 
me awfully silly to talk so much to you about Alan, 
and what he said and did so many years ago. But 
then I am not quite like other women, you know. 
I never had another lover but Alan. He was my 
first and last, and I have no one else to talk about. 
And now , you know, I am sure you will understand 
that he seems dearer to me than ever. This has 
been the only thing that was wanted to make our 
married life perfect. 

“ I shall never envy anyone again upon earth, and 
I should say just the same if I knew that the day of 


1 86 


A SCARLET SIN. 


my baby’s birth would be that of my own death. 
For it will be but a very short time, after all, before 
we all meet again, and Alan and I will still be 
husband and wife and father and mother in heaven.” 


■e 

ic 


A SCARLET SIN. 


’*7 


ii 


CHAPTER XX. 

DR. JOLLIFFE’S OPINION. 

“ Lor ! my lady ! ” cried old Jane Wood quite crossly, 
“don’t go for to talk such rubbish. Day of your 
your death indeed, and when you are as well and as 
hearty as any mother could wish to be. You don’t 
expect to feel as if you were nineteen, when you’re 
hard on your forty-first birthday, do you ? Why 
you’re wonderful , that’s what you are, taking all 
things into consideration, and six months hence, I 
1 expect to see you trotting about all over the place, 

! as you used to do when you first come to it, and I 
after you, with young master in my arms.” 

Lady Chichester smiled brightly at the picture the 
old nurse had conjured up, as she turned over a 
drawer full of little caps, all highly bedizened with 
i Valenciennes lace and ribbons, and each bearing the 
[ cockade that betokens the wearer to be an embryo 
I lord of the creation. 

“ We make quite certain it will be a boy,” she said 
softly, “ but, for my part, I don’t care which it may 
be, so long as it is alive and well.” 

“ Then I’m ashamed to hear you say so, my lady,” 

: resumed the servant, “ and I shall be ashamed of you 
into the bargain if it isn't a boy. Lor ! what should 
you have but a boy, and the first time too ! It must 


i88 


A SCARLET SIN. 


be a boy ! Sir Alan and Miss Chichester, to say- 
nothing of your own family, will be all terribly 
disappointed if it isn’t. A girl wouldn’t be of any 
manner of use at all to us. She could onTy take the 
money and leave the title to go to strangers just the 
same. You mustn’t ever think of such rubbish, my 
lady. You can please yourself afterwards, but the 
first time it must be a boy.” 

Lady Chichester smiled again at the old woman's 
enthusiasm. 

“But one mustn’t make too sure, Jane,” she said, 
“or the disappointment will be twice as hard to bear. 
Leave it to God’s hands, my dear friend. He is 
sure to do everything right. Cora dear, if you are 
not too tired, I should like you to unpack the rest of 
the layette . How beautifully the little clothes are 
made. I love to look at them and handle them. 
They seem to thrill me through and through as if I 
already knew the dear little child who, please God, 
will wear them hereafter.” 

“ Don’t you think, dear Lady Chichester, that you 
had better lie down and rest now until Sir Alan 
comes to take you for your drive ? I will unpack 
the other boxes during your absence, and have 
everything laid out ready for your inspection on 
your return.” 

“Yes, dear 4 that certainly will be best; but you 
always seem to know what will be best for me. If 
I get over my approaching trial, Cora, and live to 
see my child grow up to manhood or womanhood, I 
shall always think that I owe it chiefly to your care 
of me. Everybody is very kind and attentive, my 


A SCARLET SIN. 


189 


darling Alan most of all, but you seem to anticipate 
my wants, and prevent ill consequences. You are 
my pilot engine, Cora, and your love goes before me 
to avoid danger. How can I ever repay you for all • 
your goodness to me ? ” 

Cora bent over the speaker and kissed her 
warmly, whilst Jane Wood turned away and mut- 
| tered to herself in the distance. Miss Murray had 
gained so firm a footing in Glebe Royal, and was on 
such excellent terms with both the master and the 
i mistress, that no one in the household presumed to 
question her orders, or pay inattention to her wishes. 
Even Miss Chichester, when she observed the very 
reticent demeanor which she had maintained ever 
since the day of the doctor’s consultation, and the 
strict attention she had paid to her duties, began to 
dpubt whether her eyes had deceived her on the 
morning in question, and whether the poor girl had 
after all been a willing recipient of her brother’s 
impetuous embraces. Still, Miss Chichester could no 
more overcome her dislike to Cora Murray than 
Jane Wood could. Both these women bore a 
marked antagonism to Lady Chichester’s companion, 
and were always on the alert to detect any short- 
coming on her part, and it says a great deal for Miss 
Murray’s acuteness that she managed to elude their 
vigilance as long as she did 

On the morning in question, Sir Alan came in, 
radiant with good humor, to take his wife down to 
her carriage. He was always good-humored now. 
He had obtained his heart’s desire, and he was in 
charity with all mankind. He had become so care- 


A SCARLET SIN. 


190 

ful of Lady Chichester, that he would not permit 
anyone to drive her but himself, although the old 
coachman, who had been in their service for years, 
was a much better whip than his master. But the 
hunting season was over by this time. Spring was 
close upon them, and the baronet was free to spend 
his days as he chose, and he chose to employ then ; 
by waiting upon his wife. No one must walk with 
her, or drive with her, or carry her meals backwards 
and forwards but himself. To some women this 
devoted attention from a husband who had shown 
himself decidedly weary of their society for some 
years past would have proved rather ennuyante , but 
Alice took it all in good faith, and basked in it like 
a cat in sunshine. She did not see, happily for her- 
self, that the unwonted devotion was laid, not at her 
feet so much as at those of the mother of his heir, 
and that all his new-born fears and anxieties were 
for the child that was coming to him, rather than for 
the woman who was destined to bear it. Cora 
Murray’s thoughts ran much after this fashion, as she 
‘watched the big baronet clumsily folding the mantle 
round Lady Chichester’s form, and supporting her 
downstairs to the carriage that was in waiting. 

“Ah, poor dear,” sighed Jane Wood as she looked 
after them, “ pray the Lord everything may go right 
with her, but it’s a terrible trial as lies before her, 
and though of course the master will have the best 
of advice and nursing, I shall never have a moment’s 
peace till it’s well over.” 

“ You don’t think her ladyship will pull through 
it,” remarked Cora, carelessly. 


A SCARLET SIN, 


T 9 I 

“ God forbid, Miss. ’Twould be a dark day for 
Glebe Royal and poor Sir Alan if anything hap- 
pened to my lady, as was his first love and will be 
his last. But there’s no doubt she’s weakly, and I 
am afraid this will leave her weaker than before. 
But there ! She’ll have the dear baby, and that will 
compensate her for anything.” 

“Yes, if it lives,” said Cora Murray. 

“ O Miss, don’t hint at the contrary,” cried Jane, 
“for it would break all our hearts. What ! to lose it 
after we’ve been waiting for it s :> many years ! Sure, 
the Lord could never be so hard as that. O no, we 
shall have an heir to Glebe Royal right enough, and 
if her ladyship only gets back her strength and is 
able to enjoy her happiness, we shall have nothing 
left to wish for. You seem so fond of the mistress, 
Miss Murray, that you ought to rejoice over her 
•prospects as much as anyone,” she continued in a 
suspicious manner. 

“And who says I do not, Mrs. Wood?” rejoined 
Cora. “ Lady Chichester’s treatment of me is sufficient 
to show in what estimation she holds my services, 
but I am not in the habit of showing my feelings 
perhaps as easily as other people. But I am going 
to take the opportunity of her ladyship’s absence to 
have a walk, so leave the rest of the unpacking until 
I return. Lady Chichester has left the matter with 
me, and desired me to see that it is correct.” 

And with that she walked out of the room. 

“Not in the habit of showing your feelings,” schlo- 
quized old Jane, as her back was turned. “No, I 
should think not, considering you’ve got none to 


A SCARLET Sm. 


192 

show. I don’t believe in your wheedling ways and 
kisses, and I wish my poor dear didn’t believe in 
them neither, but I daren’t say a word to upset her 
at the present moment. But just wait till it’s all 
right again, and then see if I don’t let her know one 
or two things as has come to my ears lately.” 

Meantime Cora had assumed her walking attire 
and started for a ramble, not, however, without a 
hidden purpose. Her desire now was to inveigle 
Dr. Jolliffe into her confidence, and find out if his 
opinion of Lady Chichester’s condition coincided 
with her own, and whether there was any chance of 
her own wishes being realized in the future. Dr. 
Jolliffe had always been very partial to Lady Chi- 
chester’s companion. He considered her a great 
success, and a success we have helped to build 
ourselves always appears double to us. So when he 
met her that morning, quite accidentally, as it seemed, 
in the course of his daily rounds, he saluted her with 
a smiling face, as he asked after Lady Chichester’s 
health. 

“ Off guard I see, Miss Murray,” he said, “ and so 
the question is almost unnecessary. Your attention 
to her ladyship is so proverbial that I am sure you 
would not have left her side unless she had been 
quite well.” 

“ You are right, Doctor Jolliffe,” she answered with 
a subdued smile. “ I should certainly not be out 
walking if Lady Chichester required me. But she 
is driving with Sir Alan. His devotion puts mine 
to the blush. It seems as if he could not bear to 
lose sight of her since you brought the happy news. 


A SCAT? LET SIN 


f 93 


But I do hope she will not over-fatigue herself. She 
is very delicate, you know, and the least exertion 
does her harm, and I am almost afraid sometimes 
that she is taking too much exercise.” 

“Not a bit of it,” cried the doctor cheerfully; 
“she can’t take too much exercise as long as she 
enjoys it.” 

“Oh, but, doctor,” cried Miss Murray, “you only 
see her at intervals, you know, and after she has had 
a good night’s rest. If you watched her all day, as 
I do, you would be alarmed at the weakness she 
sometimes exhibits. Yesterday she fainted at the 
dinner table without any reason whatever.” 

“That’s nothing. Lady Chichester is a fainting 
subject. She has been used to fainting all her life, 
and in her condition it is the commonest thing 
possible. How does she sleep at night ? ” 

“ Very well, I believe, but then you see her mind 
is at ease. She has no apprehension of the future. 
She is very ignorant on such matters, and fancies 
everything must go right with her, poor dear.” 

“And so it will, so it will,” exclaimed the doctor; 
“we shall have a bouncing boy or girl at Glebe Royal 
about the middle of March. Does she eat well ? ” 

“Yes, for her,” replied the companion. 

She was speaking the truth now because she 
wanted to extract the truth from her auditor. She 
had sought the interview with the sole view of as- 
certaining exactly what he thought regarding the 
chances of life or death for her employer. 

“Well, what do you want more,” asked Dr. 
Jolliffe. “She eats well, and sleeps well, and takes 
13 


194 


A SCARLET sm. 


exercise, and is in good spirits. I call that a clean 
bill of health. We shall see her riding to the meet 
next season with Sir Alan, and then your nose will 
be put out of joint, eh, Miss Murray ? ” 

“ O doctor, pray do not jest on such a subject. 
You make my blood curdle. You do not know 
perhaps how attached I am to her ladyship, nor how 
anxious I feel on this subject. I have a foreboding 
that all will not go well with her in March, and that 
Glebe Royal will be turned into a house of mourn- 
ing. Pray, pray relieve my fears, if you have any 
reasonable ground for doing so.” 

The doctor looked grave, and a little puzzled. 

“ I don’t know why you should be so anxious, 
Miss Murray. I see nothing in Lady Chichester’s 
condition to make you so. Of course, we all know 
that life is uncertain, and that it is impossible to 
foretell the future, but as far as science can decide 
for her, she has every prospect of a successful issue 
to her trial.” 

“ But, doctor, think of her age, and the many years 
of previous debility from which she has suffered. It 
is not as if she w^ere a young and healthy woman. 
Even for such it is a great risk, but for her, I cannot 
think how she will ever go through with it.” 

“It’s only your ignorance that makes you so 
nervous, Miss Murray,” replied the doctor ; “ many of 
these cases for which the greatest fears are entertained 
turn out the easiest in the end. There’s no occasion 
for your forebodings. They do honor to your feel- 
ings for your employer, but I must beg you will 
dismiss them from your mind or they may infect 


A SCARLET SIN. 


*95 


her. For to suspect that those around her have any 
fears of her safety would have the worst possible 
effect upon Lady Chichester. I want her to be 
perfectly at ease and tranquil regarding herself, and 
there is no reason whatever why she should be 
otherwise.” 

“ Then you really and truly believe that I am 
frightening myself for nothing,” said Cora Murray, 
with an inquiring look at her companion. 

“ I believe that your warm heart, in this instance, 
has run away with your cool head, my dear young 
lady,” replied Dr. Jolliffe, “and I am as anxious to 
allay your fears for your own sake as for that of her 
ladyship. I fear nothing for her, nothing whatever, 
and believe she will run no greater risk than any 
other woman. She is delicate, but she is perfectly 
healthy, and has, I believe, a long life before her. 
I’d lay any odds that she outlives the baronet, robust 
as he appears to be. And with the care and affection 
which all her friends, yourself included, will lavish 
on her at this juncture, why, nothing can go wrong, 
and that’s my candid opinion.” 

“Thank you, Dr. Jolliffe. It is such a relief to my 
mind to hear you say so. I have been worrying 
myself about her more than you would believe, of 
late, but I shall follow your example now, and look 
forward to nothing but happiness.” 

“That’s right,” said the doctor, “you’re a good 
girl, Miss Murray, and a sensible girl, and my sister- 
in-law couldn’t have chosen a better companion for 
my old friend. Well, good-bye, and let me hear you 
laugh and sing for the future.” 


96 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“Yes, on the wrong side of my mouth,” thought 
Cora Murray, as she shook hands with him and left 
him. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


*97 


CHAPTER XXI. 

AN HEIR TO GLEBE ROYAL. 

After this, the days succeeded each other very 
quickly at Glebe Royal, and were chiefly employed 
in making preparations for the important event that 
was expected to take place in the middle of March. 
Sir Alan’s devotion to his wife continued unabated, 
and his manner towards Miss Murray was so easy 
and indifferent, that a sharer of his secrets might 
have well doubted if the baronet remembered that 
any passages of a tender nature had ever taken place 
between them. But Cora was too much a woman of 
the world not to know better. She was perfectly 
aware that whatever a married man may swear or do 
when he believes himself safe from detection, he is 
very seldom prepared to stick to his word when there 
is a chance of being found out. Men, as a rule, are 
too intensely selfish to risk anything. It is the women 
only who are such fools as to throw away their 
reputations and their happiness for the sake of a 
loving word or a warm embrace. Cora Murray 
knew that when the question of wife and home and 
friends came to the front, such as she might go to 
the wall. She had never worked for more than to 
catch the fickle heart of the baronet in the rebound, 
and that she still hoped to do, and, given the oppor- 
tunity, was firmly convinced that she should do. For 


198 


A SCARLET SIN. 


if she sometimes almost believed that Sir Alan’s 
pricking conscience had rendered her presence dis- 
tasteful to him, a chance look, or touch (to say noth- 
ing of the anxiety he exhibited not to be left alone 
with her), betrayed that the feelings to which he had 
confessed were kept in abeyance from a sense of 
honor, and that it only needed a breath on the 
smouldering fire to make it burst out into a flame 
again. 

Had it not been so, she would have felt that she 
was wasting her time by remaining at Glebe Royal. 
As it was, she decided that it might be worth while 
to stop and watch the course of events. 

“ Should anything go wrong with Lady Chiches- 
ter, and there is always the chance of it,” she argued, 
“ the baronet will be ready to run to anyone for com- 
fort, and I don’t think he will waver long between 
his sister and myself. Were my heart at all con- 
cerned in the matter, this state of things would be 
altogether intolerable to me, but as it is, I really 
don’t much care which way it turns out.” 

But no one who had seen her patiently trimming 
little cambric shirts with lace, or knitting baby shoes, 
could have suspected her of harboring such treach- 
erous thoughts against the peace of Glebe Royal. 
Even the blundering baronet was deceived by her 
modest demeanor, and flattered himself that she felt 
as sorry as he did for having been betrayed into 
such disloyalty to Lady Chichester, and was as anxious 
to make up for it by an extra amount of attention 
and care. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


199 


Of course, everything that was done to welcome 
the expected heir to Glebe Royal was on the most 
extravagant and costly scale. Sir Alan cou’d not 
think of sparing money on such an occasion, and his 
anxiety concerning his wife made him engage the 
highest authorities possible to look after her welfare. 
Dr. Norman was to be telegraphed for, directly there 
was the least sign of his services being required, and 
to remain at Glebe Royal in conjunction with Dr. 
Jolliffe until her ladyship’s safety was assured, and 
a nurse (who had never attended anyone lower than 
a countess before) was settled there for at least a 
week beforehand. This person, Mrs. Markham by 
name (who was a very fine person indeed), came 
rustling down in her silks and her satins, and gave 
a great deal more trouble than the mistress of the 
house. Of course, everything that had been pre- 
pared before her arrival was entirely wrong, and had 
to be altered immediately, and if the baronet or Miss 
Chichester ventured to make a suggestion, or argue 
a point, they were immediately treated to such a 
dose of Lady Caroline This, or the Duchess of That, 
as effectually closed the discussion. As for poor 
Lady Chichester, she hardly dared say her soul was 
her own during that terrible week of waiting. Mrs. 
Markham sat upon her as effectually, both figura- 
tively and literally (as she seemed to consider it her 
duty not to leave her alone for five minutes together)^ 
that the poor little lady almost felt at last that she 
had been very presumptuous in having a baby at all 
without first asking Mrs. Markham’s permission. 
The person in Glebe Royal that this authority 


200 


A SCARLET SIN. 


seemed to like best, and associate with most, was 
Miss Murray — partly, perhaps, because she fancied 
that she was more on a par with herself than the 
members of the family, and partly, she could say be- 
fore her what she would not have dared to say to 
them. For if a monthly nurse can’t talk , she is no- 
where. One might as well deprive her of her meat 
and drink at once. 

“Ah,” Mrs. Markham would observe, with a solemn 
shake of the head, as she and Cora descended the 
staircase together after having attended Lady Chi- 
chester to bed. “ Ah, it’ll be a trying case this — 
mark my words. Her ladyship is terribly delicate. 
She reminds me so much of the Duchess of Thistle- 
down. I’m sure I can’t think how she’ll ever pull 
through it.” 

“Do you think there is danger ?” whispered Cora 
back in return. 

“ We must hope not, my dear. Dr. Norman is 
very clever. I’ve seen him do miracles. I’m sure 
when Lady Languish lay about dying, with her 
breath like a cold vapor on one’s face, he brought 
her back, as it were, from the grave. He’ll do his 
best for her ladyship, you may depend upon that. 
But I shall have a fine time of it, I expect, nursing 
her. I only hope we may have a healthy baby, or 
my hands will be full.” 

“ I suppose Mrs. Wood will take the baby for you, 
won’t she ? ” asked Cora. 

Mrs. Markham rustled her portly figure round to 
express her astonishment* 


A SCARLET SIN. 


201 


“ What ! trust the heir to that old griffin to look 
after ? No, my dear, I know my duty better. Boy 
or girl, it don’t leave my hands under the fortnight, 
and then it must be to someone more scientific than 
that old woman. Why, she wouldn’t know how to 
handle it. It requires a lot of practice to wash and 
dress these tender creatures, and I wouldn’t answer 
for its life — no, nor her ladyship’s either — if I’m not 
there to look after them both.” 

But however well-intentioned Mrs. Markham might 
be, she was not powerful enough, it seemed, to fore- 
tell the decrees of Fate, for, a few days after she had 
entered upon her duties, she was going upstairs after 
a plentiful supper, and a little of ‘something hot,’ 
and turning round suddenly to address Miss Murray, 
she missed her footing, and rolled right down into 
the hall again. Cora flew after her in a moment, 
and Sir Alan and Miss Chichester came out of the 
library at the same time, but they were too late to 
prevent an accident. She was a tali and portly 
woman, and she had fallen with her legs under her. 
The consequence of which was, that when, in answer 
to an urgent summons, Dr. Jolliffe appeared upon 
the scene of action, he found that the limb was 
broken, and that the nurse must at once' be put to 
bed, and abandon all idea of pursuing her professional 
duties. 

“ But what shall we do for a substitute ? ” exclaimed 
Sir Alan, with a long face blanched with apprehen- 
sion ; “ my wife may require her services at any 
moment, and there is not a woman in the village 
whom I would allow to enter her chamber.” 


202 


A SCARLET SIN. 


“ Dear me, dear me, that’s easily settled,” replied 
the doctor. “ Haven’t we got women and to spare 
in the house, who will look after her ladyship till we 
can send for another nurse from London ? But our 
first object must be to get this poor creature’s leg 
set. She’s an inflammatory subject, and the sooner 
it’s done the better. Have you a bedroom on the 
'ground floor, that we may avoid carrying her up- 
stairs ? I don’t want Lady Chichester to get wind 
of this accident, or it may give her a bad night.” 

“ But Jane Wood has already told her, Dr. Jollifle,” 
interposed Cora Murray, “ and her ladyship wants 
to see you as soon as ever you are at leisure.” 

“ Confound that old woman’s meddling ! ” ex- 
claimed the doctor ; “ all the mischief in the world is 
done by these chattering tongues. All right, Miss 
Murray. Run back and tell her ladyship that I’ll 
be with her directly, but this is quite an ordinary 
accident, and nothing whatever to be alarmed at.” 

But when the poor moaning and groaning Mrs. 
Markham had been carried to bed and undressed, it 
was found that she had sustained a compound frac- 
ture, and had nothing to do but to lie there until she 
was well again. 

“The most unfortunate thing that could have 
happened ! ” exclaimed the doctor, in a tone of 
annoyance, as he pulled on his coat after setting the 
fractured limb, “ and here’s the twelfth of the month, 
and we can’t telegraph to London till to-morrow 
morning. Well, well, it can’t be helped now, and it’s 
no use crying over spilt milk.” 

“ Doctor,” said Cora Murray, as soon as he had 
left the room, “ will you come up and see Lady Chi- 


A scarlet s/m 


MS 

Chester at once ? She is so excited, I think you will 
have to give her a draught before she goes to sleep.” 

The doctor went upstairs, grumbling all the way 
at the carelessness which had occasioned the trouble, 
and walked leisurely into Lady Chichester’s room 
But after a few minutes there he came out again, 
and called for Cora Murray from the head of the 
stairs. 

“ Come in here, I want to speak to you,” he said, 
turning into her own sitting-room as she joined him. 
And then, when the door had closed behind them, 
he continued : “ What were you about to do ? Go 

to bed ? ” 

“ Certainly, if there is no occasion to sit up, Dr. 
Jollifife. It is past one o’clock.” 

“ But there is occasion. I am not going home to- 
night, and her ladyship may require you.” 

a Do you mean to say ? ” 

“ Yes ! I do mean to say, but I only say it to you. 
I don’t want the whole house to hear the news, 
especially that old fool, Jane Wood. Neither do I 
wish to alarm Sir Alan and Miss Chichester. The 
less people her. ladyship has about her the better. 
Can’t you manage to make them all go to bed ?” 

“ They are going now, Dr. Jollifife. They have 
made all arrangements for Mrs. Markham’s comfort — 
Annie, the housemaid, is to sit up with her to-night 
— and are lighting their candlesticks in the hall.” 

“ Very good. I will go and tell them that I will 
lie down on the sofa for a few hours in case Mrs. 
Markham should require me, and you must go into 
Lady Chichester’s room and dismiss Jane Wood for 


A SCARLET SW. 


204 

the night. If anything should happen — as I can’t 
have Dr. Norman or Mrs. Markham — I would rather 
be alone with your cool head and ready hands to 
help me.” 

“ It will be easy to get rid of old Jane, because 
she always goes to bed first and leaves me to read 
her ladyship to sleep.” 

“Very well. Make haste about it, for I want that 
prying old fool out of the way.” 

Miss Murray did at once as she was bid. She 
found Lady Chichester in a terrible state of excite- 
ment at the idea of nurse’s accident, and what would 
become of her and her baby if the great authority 
was absent after all. Cora sent Jane Wood away, 
and tried her best to soothe her ladyship’s fears, but 
they were not easily allayed. Alice’s cheeks were 
feverishly bright, and her tongue ran incessantly, 
until physical uneasiness began to turn her thoughts 
in another direction. Dr. Jolliffe only waited to be 
sure that the baronet and his sister had retired to 
their own apartments, when he threw off the plaids 
and rugs, with which they had insisted upon cover- 
ing him, and crept upstairs to Lady Chichester’s 
room, where he found his patient quietly moaning, 
and Miss Murray setting all things in readiness for 
the event as deftly as if she had been Mrs. Markham 
herself. 

“You’re a clever girl, my dear,” he said, admir- 
ingly, as he watched her. “ I should like to have you 
for my assistant. If I had known you were half as 
intelligent, I should never have sent for Mrs. Mark- 
ham at all. A sharp friend is worth twenty pro- 
fessional nurses in a case like this.” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


26 $ 

“ You mustn’t praise me so much, or I shall grow 
conceited,” said Cora. “You forget that Mrs. Mark- 
ham has been here nearly a week, and arranged 
everything in readiness for herself. I am only imi- 
tating what I saw her do.” 

“ Well, you do it so nicely that I am almost 
pleased to think the old woman is safe downstairs. 
This is going to be a much shorter business than I 
anticipated, Miss Murray. Her ladyship is going on 
wonderfully well — couldn’t be better — and we shall 
have that young gentleman here before morning.” 

And in effect, after a vigil of some four or five 
hours, whilst the household were still wrapped in 
slumber, a loud squall was heard in Lady Chichester’s 
room, and the heir to Glebe Royal was ushered into 
the world with the dawn. 

“ All over, my lady ! ” exclaimed the doctor, heartily, 
“ and here we have the boy at last. And a good 
thumping big boy too. Mercy on us, sir! you 
needn’t squall so loud, though you are the heir to 
Glebe Royal. Do you want to wake the whole house 
to do you honor ? Well, I hope your ladyship is 
satisfied at last.” 

“ Cora,” said Lady Chichester, faintly, “ call my 
Alan to me.” 

“Yes, yes,” acquiesced the doctor, “you can go 
and tell Sir Alan the happy news, Miss Murray, but 
say he must be as quiet as a mouse if he comes in 
here. And call up old Jane at the same time. Now 
that everything’s happily over the old witch may 
make herself useful.” 


2o6 


A SCARLET SIN. 


CHAPTER XXII. 

SOLEMN CHARGE. 

CORA MURRAY heard the words plainly enough, 
but for a moment she stood motionless, transfixed 
by the thoughts that overwhelmed her. It was de- 
cided then, and the Fates were against her. Dr. 
Jolliffe had been right, and all the rest wrong. The 
promised heir had arrived, strong and lusty — Lady 
Chichester was a happy mother — and she would be 
nothing whatever in future to any of them. And 
this was the message they entrusted her to carry 
to Sir Alan — the death-knell of her own hopes and 
schemes. Her teeth clenched and her black brows 
lowered. All the inherent malice and revenge in her 
nature was to the uppermost, and she felt that she 
could have killed Alice Chichester where she lay, 
exhausted but smiling, with her infant in her arms. 

“ Make haste, Miss Murray, please,” urged the 
doctor, “ we have no time for dawdling. Send Mrs. 
Wood down here first to attend to this young gentle- 
man, and then you can rouse the baronet. I suppose 
he would never forgive us if we neglected to give 
him the earliest intelligence of his son’s arrival ? ” 

“ I will go at once,” replied Cora Murray, as she 
left the room, still walking in a dream. 

The commotion that followed the announcement 
of her news may be easily imagined. It was like 


A SCARLFT SIN. 


20 1 


the sound that we are promised at the Last Day — 
the trump that wakes the dead, and converted the 
unconscious household of Glebe Royal into the 
semblance of a disturbed ant-hill. Old Jane Wood 
fell on her knees as soon as she comprehended what 
had taken place, and began offering up hallelujas 
instead of putting on her clothes, until Miss Murray’s 
orders and female curiosity combined made her 
hurry down to welcome the new arrival. Miss Chi- 
chester (who, like many other elderly and ill-favored 
women, did not consider she was safe unless her bed- 
chamber door were barred and bolted for the night) 
took a good deal of waking, and, when fully aroused, 
had to appear before Cora’s astonished eyes in a mar- 
velous garment of flannel before she could distinctly 
hear the reason for which she was disturbed. But 
when she did hear it, the hard face quivered with 
emotion, and the bony hands trembled so violently 
that she had the greatest difficulty in fastening her 
dress. 

“ Perhaps you will kindly inform Sir Alan of what 
has taken place,” said Cora Murray. “Dr. Jolliffe 
commissioned me to tell him, but I think you are 
the proper person to do so.” 

“O certainly, Miss Murray. You are quite right. 
It would hardly be the correct thing for a young 
woman to inform a gentleman of such an event. 
And at his bedroom door too. O dear no! You 
had better return to Lady Chichester, and I will tell 
my brother the good news myself.” 

The consequence of which was that, half an hour 
later, Sir Alan, pale with excitement, came creeping 
into his wife’s room, and, going up to the bedside, 


A SCARLET SIN \ 


So8 

knelt down there as if in prayer. Dr. Jolliffe turned 
his head aside at once, and walked into the adjoin- 
ing room to give Jane Wood some directions regard- 
ing the infant. His sensibility made him recoil from 
being witness to such a scene : it was sacred to the 
newly-made father and mother. But Cora Murray 
had no such delicate scruples. In her eyes there 
was something distinctly ludicrous in seeing a big> 
burly man like the baronet sprawling on his knees, 
like a boy of twenty, and in hearing the words of 
love and gratitude that came bubbling from his lips. 
Her mouth had an ugly sneer upon it, and she felt 
that she hated them both, as she stood by and 
watched them folded in each other’s arms. 

“ My Alice ! ” the baronet exclaimed, in a voice 
full of emotion. “ Thank God that you are safe. 
This is the very happiest day of all my life.” 

“ O Alan, I am so thankful, I don’t know what to 
say. Look at the little darling. Isn’t he sweet ? 
His eyes are quite brown, like yours, dear, and his 
little head is all over curls. I never thought we 
should have such a blessing as this to call our own. 
And a boy too ! It seems too much — as if God were 
resolved to leave us nothing to desire.” 

“ Nothing could be too much or too good for you, 
my own sweet wife. This dear little fellow has come 
as a reward for all your long-suffering and patience. 
It is I who do not deserve him. And yet he is mine 
— ours — all our own. We shall live our future lives 
in him.” 

But at this juncture Miss Chichester stalked into 
the room, looking unnaturally tall in her deshabille , 
like a grenadier in a dressing-gown. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


209 


“ And so Geoffry has arrived,” she began, in her 
stentorian voice. “ Alice, my dear, I congratulate you. 
You’ve done the right thing at last. And is this the 
heir? Dear me. He looks rather small and red to 
own the whole of Glebe Royal, but I suppose he’ll 
grow before that time comes. I can remember the 
day you were born, Alan, and you were very much 
like this. Well! well! Timeworks wonders, and it’s a 
fault on the right side to be too young. It’s lucky 
for you that you’re a boy, young sir, for I should 
never have forgiven you if you had been a girl.” 

“ Miss Chichester,” said the doctor, coming for- 
ward, “ I’m sorry to cut short your congratulations^ 
but I can’t have so much talking nor so many people 
in the sick room.” 

“ Well, there are others you can send away,” re- 
torted Miss Chichester, with a glance at the com- 
panion. 

“ You mean Miss Murray ? No, I can’t spare her. 
She has been of incalculable assistance to me during 
Lady Chichester’s illness, and I intend to appoint 
her chief nurse until Mrs. Markham’s substitute 
arrives. But I must ask you and Sir Alan to leave 
the room again now. Lady Chichester is very weak, 
and requires the most perfect repose. If she is at 
all excited she will suffer from it afterwards.” 

The baronet rose at once, and kissed his wife and 
child. 

“ Good-bye, my darlings, for the present,” he said 
“we are all under the doctor’s orders. Come, Anna.” 

“ I call this an insult,” exclaimed Miss Chichester, 
as her brother drew her away, “ and that fool Jolliffe, 

14 


210 


A SCARLET SIN. 


shall answer to me for it by and by. To turn us 
out of Alice’s room while that minx, Cora Murray, 
remains in it ! I never heard of such a thing ! I sup- 
pose she’s been philandering with him now, and try- 
ing to twist him round her litt’e finger. A pretty 
state of affairs indeed, when Geoffry’s father and 
aunt are not allowed to see him, whilst Miss Mur- 
ray is to be installed as chief nurse. It’s not been 
done by fair means, I’ll take my oath of that.” 

And so, fuming and fussing, Miss Chichester re- 
treated to her own apartments again, whilst Sir Alan 
sought the open air to try and walk off the excite- 
ment that threatened to stifle him. Meanwhile Dr. 
Jolliffe having administered some soothing mixture 
to Lady Chichester, watched her drop off into a 
tranquil sleep, and then called Miss Murray into the 
adjoining room. 

“ I am going home now, for a few hours,” he said, 
“and if you want me you’ll know where to find me. 
But I don’t apprehend any necessity for your doing 
so. Her ladyship is going on very well, and by this 
evening we’ll have a nurse to take the charge of her 
off your hands. But I must have her kept quiet, 
Miss Murray — absolutely and entirely quiet. I have 
told Jane Wood to keep the infant in this room, and 
I want only you to remain in that one. Now, do 
you understand me ? Please to lock the door against 
all intruders until I return. I shall not be longer 
than I can possibly help.” 

“ I will obey your orders, Dr. Jolliffe, but you had 
better explain them to Miss Chichester and Sir Alan 
also. I cannot help myself if they come hammering 
at the door for admittance.” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


211 


“ They must not attempt to enter. I will make 
that clearly understood. Lady Chichester’s welfare 
depends on it. And now, Miss Murray, I am about 
to give you a serious charge. There is only one thing 
I fear, and that is, the state of her ladyship’s heart. 
It is very weak, and any attack of faintness must be 
carefully warded off. That is why I have chosen to 
leave her in your care. You are intelligent, and you 
are attached to her. Don’t take your eyes off her 
face. Sit down here,” continued Dr. Jolliffe, placing 
a chair by the bedside, “ and don’t leave her for a 
minute. If she sleeps on, well and good, but if she 
w r akes and appears at all agitated, give her a dose of 
this without the slightest delay.” 

“ And how much does a dose consist of ? ” inquired 
Cora, as she took a small vial from the doctor’s 
hand. 

“ A teaspoonful in a wine glass of water. Have 
everything ready beside you, so that there may be 
no hesitation in administering it. You don’t know 
how much may depend on your promptitude. I had 
prepared Mrs. Markham for this, but her accident 
has of course rendered my directions useless.” 

“ I conclude this mixture is to revive the action of 
the heart in case of failure,” remarked Cora, still 
examining the bottle of medicine. 

“It is — but there is no need for you to know too 
much, Miss Murray,” replied the doctor, smiling. 
“ Give it if necessary, though^ I trust it may not be. 
These nervous shocks are sometimes followed by 
very grave consequences to a constitution like Lady 
Chichester’s. ” 


212 


A SCARLET SLAT. 


He went up to the bedside and felt the sleeping 
woman’s pulse as he spoke. “Very' quiet and 
regular,” he said, “ everything going on as well as 
possible. I leave her in your care then, Miss Murray, 
and after I have had a look at the broken leg down- 
stairs, I’ll go home and relieve Mrs. Jolliffe’s mind of 
the cause of my staying out all-night.” 

He walked cautiously fron the room as he spoke, 
and left Cora at the bedside with the vial in her 
hands. 

“ Everything going on well ,” she thought to herself, 
“ of course every thing is going on well, and will con- 
tinue to do so, and I shall have to look out for a 
berth elsewhere. It’s just like my luck. When I 
was getting on so capitally with the baronet, and had 
the ball, as it were, at my feet, the whole scene 
changes as if by magic, and instead of a coffin, we 
have a cradle and general rejoicings all round. Bah ! 
it makes me sick to see them spooning over each 
other, and to remember what might have happened 
if my lucky star had only been in the ascendant. 
But I shall never get him back again whilst she lives. 
I can see that plainly enough. She has assumed a 
new importance in his eyes as the mother of his heir, 
and he will never be able to separate the two again. 
He will worship his gratified vanity in her, and 
imagine it is love for the woman he was ready to 
betray. What self-deceiving fools men are, and how 
quick to believe what they wish to be true.” 

She poured a teaspoonful of the medicine into a 
wineglass of water, and set it on a little table by her 
side. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


213 


“ It will be best to have everything ready in case 
of need,” she thought, “ and then there will be no 
delay. But, supposing she wakes as the doctor des- 
cribed, and I did not give her the mixture. What 

would happen then, I wonder — I wonder ” 

She sat down in the chair by the bedside and 
folded her hands in her lap, -and gave herself up to 
unholy thoughts. Do the spirits of evil really come 
at such moments, and whisper in men’s ears the 
deeds they wish them to commit ? Are they enabled 
to make some peculiar temperaments imbibe their 
doctrines, without knowing why they should do so, 
or what unseen power urges them to commit crimes 
against their will ? As Cora Murray watched by 
Lady Chichester’s side, her handsome features dark 
and lowered, the enemy of mankind himself might 
have been hiding behind those frowning brows and 
angry, envious eyes. To most women, the fair, pale 
prettiness of the newly-made mother w r ould have 
appealed for sympathy — her trembling, long-expected 
happiness would have secured their gratulation. But 
not so with Cora Murray. She had never even liked 
Lady Chichester. Her pretended affection and in- 
terest had been assumed for her own purposes, and 
now regarded her simply as the obstacle to her gain- 
ing the prize she had made so sure of. And as she 
sat there, silent and solitary, watching the exhausted 
sleeper, the daylight seemed to fade away, and the 
room filled with ghostly faces and spectral fingers, 
all urging her on to remove the stumbling-book that 
stood in her path, and clear the way for her own 
advancement. As she was listening with bated 


214 


A SCARLET SIN. 


breathing and horror-stricken eyes to the devilish 
voices within her, there was a start, and a stifled 
cry, and Lady Chichester awoke, flushed and pant- 
ing, and sprang upright in bed, struggling for breath. 

Cora intuitively seized the glass of medicine which 
was to relieve her, but paused a moment, and in that 
moment of hesitation some fiend seemed to hold it 
to her own lips, and force her to drink the draught 
down to the very dregs. 

“ Lie down,” she whispered hoarsely to the 
patient, “ you mustn’t rise. Lie down.” 

“Air — air,” panted Lady Chichester, as she feebly 
struggled with her encircling arms. “ Cora, air.” 

“ Be quiet, Lady Chichester. Lie back on your 
pillows. This is nothing. It will be soon over.” 

Alice lay back as she was desired. Her heart was 
failing fast, and she had no power of resistance. Her 
flushed face faded to ashen grey — her parted lips 
became livid — her dilated eyes glazed over with the 
film of death. 

“Alan! my child!” she murmured, faintly — 

and closed her patient eyes in the eternal sleep. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


215 


CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE BEAUTIFUL ANGEL. 

At first, Cora Murray could not believe that it was 
over, really over, and that Lady Chichester would 
speak to her no more. She stood at the bedside for 
some minutes waiting for her to revive, but when she 
saw the blue eyes wide open, but without sense or 
light in them, a sudden horror seized her that her 
wishes should have been fulfilled so soon, and she 
caught the dead woman in her arms and shook her 
violently. 

“Wake up! wake up!” she cried; “try and 
shake off this drowsiness. See! I have some medi- 
cine for you, Lady Chichester. Open your mouth, 
and I will give it you.” 

She tried with trembling hands to pour out a second 
dose of the mixture, but spilt it over the table instead, 
and another glance at the silent figure on the bed 
made the bottle fall from her hands with a crash 
upon the floor. 

“It is useless,” she exclaimed in a frightened 
whisper, “she is really gone, and / — O God! what 
am I? Alice! Alice!” she continued vehemently, 
“it was a mistake. I didn’t know what I was do- 
ing. As Heaven is my witness, I never meant to go 
as far as this.” 


2l6 


A SCARLET SIN. 


But it was too late for Lady Chichester to extend 
either mercy or forgiveness to her unhappy com- 
panion, and, with a shriek of genuine horror and 
dismay, Miss Murray rushed to the next room, and 
roused old Jane Wood, who sat, with the heir on her 
lap, nodding over the fire. 

“Mrs. Wood, wake up for Heaven’s sake and come 
to Lady Chichester ! Something dreadful has hap- 
pened to her. She will neither speak nor look at 
me. My God ! what can it be ? ” She was shaking 
all over, and her teeth chattered so violently, as she 
stared with her large, dark eyes into Jane Wood’s 
face, that the old servant guessed the calamity that 
had fallen on the house at once. Her consternation 
took the form of anger. 

“ Why, what should have happened to her lady- 
ship, unless it’s one of them nasty faints, and if you’d 
been doing your duty by her, Miss Murray, you’d 
have prevented it’s coming on,” she exclaimed, as she 
laid the infant hastily in his bassinette and ran to the 
assistance of her mistress. But the first glance told 
her the truth. Lady Chichester, already looking 
twenty years younger under the influence of the 
beautiful angel, was laid back on her pillows unmis- 
takeably, irrecoverably dead. The old nurse gazed 
at her for a few moments in speechless dismay, and 
then fell to sobbing as if her heart would break. 


r “ O, Miss Alice, my darling child, my nursling, 
come back to us ! O, why have you gone just now! 
v d&QW, when ev erythin g has come to you that you have 
been waiting for so long ! O my lady, my lady ! We 
kshall never, never see your like again,” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


217 


She wept for some minutes in uncontrollable 
anguish before she remembered what was due to the 
rest of the family. 

“ I must go and break this terrible news to Miss 
Chichester and the baronet at once,” she said. “ O 
poor Sir Alan ! It will just spoil the rest of his life 
for him, and I doubt if he’ll ever bear to look at the 
child now that’s taken her from us. Miss Murray, 
stay here whilst I go and call him. It’s our first 
duty to tell the poor gentleman what has happened.” 

“ No, no, don’t leave me here,” cried Cora, with a 
look of horror on her scared face. “ I am not well, 
Mrs. Wood. I cannot stay. I will go and send 
Miss Chichester to you. I will say that her ladyship 
is ill. We must not break it to them all at once. 
The shock will be too great. But are you quite, 
quite sure that she is gone ? ” 

“ Have you ever looked on death before, Miss, and 
can you ask me that question ? Gone I Yes, indeed, 
she is gone, God help us! She’s one of His angels 
now, if ever a woman was. But if the sight of her 
blessed face scares you, why run and call Miss Chi- 
chester, as you say, and send for the doctor. He 
can’t do no good, but it’s right he should be here. 
O, my dear, dear lady, that he should come back on 
such a pitiful errand as this ! ” 

Cora Murray left the old servant kissing the hand 
of her dead mistress and crying over it, whilst she 
flew, still with that blanched and horror-stricken 
face, to Miss Chichester’s room. 

“ Come downstairs at once,” she exclaimed breath- 
lessly. “ Mrs. Wood wants you. Lady Chichester is 


2l8 


A SCARLET SIN. 


not so well. I am just going to send for the doctor.” 

“ Step in a minute, if you please, Miss Murray, and 
let me understand my sister-in-law’s symptoms. It 
is of no use hurrying in this way. I thought Dr. 
Jolliffe was very foolish to trust her to the care of a 
person so inexperienced as yourself, but these doctors 
are all fools. Is she feverish, or faint, or what ? 
Was no medicine left for her to take in case of an 
emergency ? ” 

“ I cannot wait, Miss Chichester. I must send 
James at once for the doctor. Go down to Mrs. 
Wood and find out for yourself, but pray go .” 

The urgency of the appeal, as well as the expres- 
sion on Miss Murray’s face, sent Miss Chichester 
downstairs in double-quick time to hear of the 
calamity that had befallen them, whilst Cora, having 
dispatched the servant to summons the doctor, went 
up trembling with fear and remorse to her own room, 
and locked herself in. 

What had she done ? What had she done? 

She sat down at the table and leant her elbows 
upon it to support her head, which seemed as though 
it were about to burst with the whirring and the 
buzzing of a thousand wheels within her brain, but 
they shook so that they only made her worse. And 
so she lay back in the chair instead, and fixed her 
eyes upon the grey March sky, and tried to persuade 
her conscience that it had all been an unfortunate 
mistake, and no real blame could lie at her door for 
Lady Chichester’s death. She had intended to give 
her the reviving mixture — why should she have placed 
it in readiness else? — but in her flurry and, confu- 
sion she had swallowed it herself, and, before she had 


A SCARLET Sm. 


219 


time to prepare another dose, the poor creature had 
gone. It was a terrible thing to have been mixed 
up in, but there was no doubt that Lady Chichester 
would have died under any circumstances, and the 
medicine could have had no power to save her. 
And if Dr. Jolliffe knew the risk she ran, he ought to 
have remained by her bedside himself. Cora wished, 
as she pressed both her hands against her burning 
head, that he had remained, and prevented such 
horrible ideas from keeping possession of her for 
the rest of her lifetime. She heard a great deal of 
hurrying about and confusion in the house from her 
place of concealment, and the sounds of weeping 
from the passages and stairs showed that the news 
had spread amongst the servants, but no one in- 
quired for her, or attempted to invade her privacy, 
and so she remained silent, tearless, and alone for 
several hours. At the end of that time a knock 
sounded on her door, sounded several times, indeed, 
before it attracted her attention, and when she 
dragged herself up wearily to answer it, she found 
Dr. Jolliffe standing on the threshold. He did not 
ask permission to enter her room. He walked 
straight in, and closed the door behind him. 

“ This is a very sad business, Miss Murray,” he 
commenced with portentous solemnity, “and I must 
put a few questions to you on the subject. I was 
surprised that you did not meet me downstairs, or 
indeed that you had left the bedside of your patient.” 

“ Were you ? ” she replied in a husky voice ; “ if you 
understood what I felt, you would know why it was 
impossible for me to remain there.” 


220 


A SCARLET SIN, 


“ Doubtless you must feel it acutely, and especially 
as you were left in charge. At what time did it 
occur ? ” 

“ I cannot tell you. I can tell you nothing. I 
sat there watching, as you desired me, and all of a 
sudden she sprang up in the bed and fell back dead. 
The shock has nearly killed me.” 

“ Did you administer the medicine as I told you ? ” 

“ There was no time. She could not swallow. 
She spilt it all.” 

“There was none spilt on the bed.” 

“No, on the floor. The bottle fell down. She 
was gasping for air. I was obliged to support her.” 

“ Did she speak at all ? ” 

“ She called Sir Alan just before she died. They 
were the only words she said, except to ask for air. 
It was all over in a few minutes,” 

“ I cannot understand your not having sufficient 
time to give her the medicine. If she had only 
swallowed a few drops, they would have restored the 
action of the heart. Of course we cannot always 
foresee these things, but I wish you could have got 
the medicine down a little quicker. Not that I mean 
to intimate that it was any fault of yours, my dear, 
only it is an irreparable misfortune. Poor Sir Alan 
is nearly out of his mind.” 

“ I hope ,” ejaculated Cora, with dry lips, “ I hope 
he does not consider me guilty of carelessness in the 
matter ? ” 

“No, no, certainly not. Everyone knows how 
devoted you were to the poor lady. There will be 
an inquest of course, and your testimony will be re- 


A SCARLET SILL. 


22E 


quired. I wish we could prevent it, for the sake of 
the family, but it is not to be avoided.” 

“ I can say nothing more than I have said to you,” 
replied Cora ; “ her death was terribly sudden.” 

The doctor rose to leave the room. 

“ I think you had better come downstairs now,” he 
said ; “the house is naturally in great confusion, and 
your absence is noticeable. When there is so much 
to be done, one can hardly afford to ipdulge one’s 
fancy for solitude. Beside, you would wish surely to 
take your turn at watching the dead.” 

Cora shrank from the suggestion, but concluded it 
would be wiser to agree to it, and so, with solemn 
step and heavy eyes, she followed the doctor down- 
stairs. 

The chamber, which in so short a space of time 
had been the scene of so much mingled joy and 
grief, was already strangely altered. Every article 
of daily use had been carefully hidden away, and the 
furniture covered with white cloths. On the bed, 
reclining on a snowy sheet, and surrounded by hot- 
house flowers, lay the body of Alice Chichester, and 
a smi’e upon her gentle lips, as if she were already 
listening, with the proud contempt of spirits risen, to 
the sounds of weeping that reached her from below. 

What a grand, majestic and beautiful thing is 
Death ! Who, looking on the calm, impenetrable 
features, and the sealed lips, and the folded hands of 
the dead, whose work is done, but must feel their 
infinite superiority to the grimacing, chattering, rest- 
less crowd of living. What peace ! What sublime 
indifference to all the ills of mortality are there! 


222 


A SCARLET SLAT. 


Who can see them thus, and not long to follow 
them, aye by a thousand deaths, sooner than remain 
in this heartless, ephemeral life alone. Death has 
no terrors except for the survivors, who cannot rend 
their bonds at will and also be at rest. 

But as Cora Murray approached the form of Alice 
Chichester, she shuddered convulsively. Would the 
pale corpse rise up to denounce her ? No, it lay 
there still and smiling, as though both blessing and 
forgiveness breathed from its marble lips. 

The companion glanced at it hurriedly, and passed 
through to the next room, where Miss Chichester 
and Jane Wood were holding watch and ward over 
the infant heir. The baronet’s sister looked up with 
hollow eyes, as Miss Murray appeared, but she was 
too much broken down to find any fault. 

“ Since you are come,” she said, in a low voice 
which was strangely unlike her own, “you had better 
remain here whilst Mrs. Wood has a few minutes to 
herself, for my brother sorely needs the comfort of 
my presence. Dr. J olliffe assures me we shall have a 
proper nurse and a foster mother for this poor little 
orphan this evening, but, until they arrive, we must 
all take our share in watching the only treasure left 
to us.” 

Jane Wood quitted the room as soon as Miss 
Chichester gave her leave, and Miss Murray having 
taken her seat by the cradle in silence, the baronet’s 
sister passed into the death chamber. But what was 
Cora’s astonishment to hear the hard, stern, and 
apparently unemotional woman abandon herself, 


A SCARLET SW. 


223 


when there, to a grief which she had not believed her 
capable of feeling. 

“ Alice, Alice,” she sobbed, as she fell on her knees 
by the bedside, “ why have you left us? You 
were all that made life bearable to me. I know that 
I was undemonstrative to you, my darling — it is my 
nature to be so more than my fault, and I fancied 
your soft, sweet disposition wanted bracing — but I 
loved you, I loved you, Alice, and I pray Qod you 
may know it now. Oh, why didn’t He- take me in- 
stead of you ? My life is so unsociable, it would 
have been missed by no one; but you, my dear, 
gentle sister, who have borne with all my tempers for 
so many years, oh, it is too cruel. It will break my 
heart.” 

Then a deeper voice, though so full of pain as to 
be almost unrecognizable, mingled with Miss Chi- 
chester’s, and Cora knew that Sir Alan had entered 
the room. 

“Anna,” he said hoarsely, “don’t give way here. 
It seems almost sacrilegious. You might disturb her 
rest. Come with me, my dear sister. I want all 
your strength to keep me from breaking down.” 

“O Alan, I cannot help it. You do not under- 
stand my feelings. I have loved her, Heaven knows, 
but I have never shewn it, and perhaps she did not 
believe that it existed. But you, you were her idol. 
She never had any doubt of you.” 

“ I know it, I know it,” he answered hurriedly ; 
“but, Anna, do you believe that she knows every- 
thing now ? ” 

“ Of course she does ! How can you doubt it ? 
Dear angel ! ” replied Miss Chichester. 


224 


A SCARLET SIM 


“ Then forgive me, Alice, forgive me, ” he cried, 
“if 1 have ever done or said anything to hurt your 
tender soul ! I have been mad at times, my darling, 
but I have loved you only , through it all. 0 ! my 
wife in heaven ! I will live the rest of my life for 
you, as I would have done had you remained with 
me on earth, and when we meet again you shall tell 
me with your own dear lips that I have been faith- 
ful.” 

He fell on his knees beside his sister, and, regard- 
less of all but themselves, they mingled their tears 
and prayers together. 

And Cora Murray sat in the next room with the 
door ajar, and listened to it all. 


A SCARLET SIN. 


225 


CHAPTER XXIV. 

FOILED WITH HER OWN WEAPONS. 

When the nervous shock engendered by the first 
knowledge of her crime had somewhat abated, and 
she had argued herself into the belief that it was 
unintentional, and she had been simply the instru- 
ment used by Fate for the accomplishment of her 
designs, Cora Murray began to consider her best 
line of action for the future. She saw scarcely any- 
thing of the baronet during the sad times that 
followed his wife’s death, for he shut himself up all 
! day in his study, and refused admittance even to his 
sister. That was only natural. It was more than 
i natural, it was decorous and right. Glebe Royal 
i was truly turned into a house of mourning, and each 
i day seemed to bring a sadder experience than the 
; last to increase the general gloom. First, there was 
a visit from Dr. Norman, who brought the foster- 
mother for Sir Alan’s heir in his train, and held a 
; consultation with Dr. Jolliffe as to the cause of the 
unexpected demise of Lady Chichester, of which the 
verdict was syncope from failure of the action of the 
heart. This, however, was not sufficient to prevent 
the horrors of an inquest, always a difficult thing to 
j avoid in the country, where the officials of the law 
j have less work and more time than in London, and 
are generally pig-headed enough to thrust their noses 

15 


126 


A SCARLET SIM 


wherever they are least required. And then came 
the undertakers with their solemn, soul-sickening 
burdens, and the ceremony, which, perhaps, gives the 
greatest pain of all to the survivors, was gone 
through, and the scent of the new pine and the 
varnished oak permeated the passages and corridors 
of Glebe Royal, and made the passers-by shudder 
as they inhaled them. Rut still Alice Chichester, 
though more sunken and drawn each day, lay smiling 
in her coffin, while her sturdy little son sucked and 
squalled and grew lusty under the care of his foster- 
mother. And Cora Murray with nothing to do, and 
no one to associate with, sat in her room and 
wondered what would become of her. She con- 
cluded that, under any circumstances, she would have 
to leave Glebe Royal, at all events for a while. The 
question was, how to leave such an impression behind 
her as would ensure her being in due time sought 
out again, and reinstated on her throne of light. 
Sir Alan’s grief would not last long. The more 
violent it was at first, the more chance there 
was of his speedy recovery, and with recovery 
would come the need of comfort, and the need 
of comfort would turn his thoughts to her. She 
recalled over and over again all that had occurred 
between them, and every word that they ex- 
changed during that morning ride which imme- 
diately preceded the doctor’s decision regarding 
Lady Chichester. The poor man had not had a 
chance since. His mind had been so preoccupied at 
first by the idea of the coming heir, and latterly by 
the death of his wife, that no one, in reason, could 


A SCARLET SIN. 


227 


have expected him to give a thought in any other 
direction. Miss Murray knew what men are, no 
one in the world better, and her knowledge included 
the truth, that when a man has lost what he most 
prized — either by death, or deceit, or dishonor — then 
is the moment for the woman whom he esteems or 
admires to go in and win. No heart, as a rule, so 
easily caught as that in the rebound. And had not 
Sir Alan confessed to her, even since that time, that 
he had really meant what he said, and that his 
consideration for his wife, and his fears for the safety 
of her expected infant, were the only reasons that 
made him appear reticent or cold. Yes, she had no 
doubt in her own mind that, when all the mournfui 
influences of the occasion were somewhat weakened, 
and the baronet realized the discomforts of his 
widowed existence, he w r ould renew, on a firmer 
basis, the courtship that had been so rudely inter- 
rupted. 

Sir Alan paid several visits daily to the chamber 
which held his wife’s remains, and in doing so he 
had to pass through the corridor outside Cora 
Murray’s room, that very corridor where he had first 
kissed her, and told her that he loved her. The 
spot did not hold very pleasant memories for him, 
especially at this period, and they were not made 
better by the fact that, on more than one occasion, as 
he was bent on his melancholy duty, he was met by 
the young lady herself, wandering about in an aim- 
less manner, and apparently wTapped in a mournful 
reverie. He had hurried past her as quickly as he 
could. He was ashamed of his blistered face and 


228 


A SCARLET SIN. 


swollen eyes, still more of the familiarities that had 
passed between them in that very place. His curt 
“ Good-morning, Miss Murray,” or “ Good-evening, 
Miss Murray,” had no more feeling in it than the 
salutation he extended to the nurse, but Cora chose 
to believe it had. Once she approached him silently 
with a beautiful wreath of white flowers and ferns 
which she had gathered from the hot-houses, and 
woven herself, and placed it in his hand. Her dark 
eyes fixed themselves plaintively on his face as she 
did so, as though she would have said, “Do not forget 
that I love you.” 

But Sir Alan’s eyes never travelled higher than 
the wreath of flowers. He knew that she intended 
him to lay it on his dead wife’s coffin, and with a 
murmured “Thank you,” he passed on and disap- 
peared. Cora Murray bit her lips with vexation, 
but she was not to be baulked of her prey in that 
fashion. She watched until she heard him traverse 
the corridor one afternoon in the dusk of the March 
gloaming, and waited for him on his return. It was 
so dark that he stumbled up against her, and apolo- 
gized for his awkward deed. But she caught his 
hand within her own. 

“ Sir Alan,” she whispered, “ do you not know 
that I am grieving with you ? Each sigh you heave 
finds its echo in my heart.” 

He raised his bloodshot eyes then for a moment 
and regarded her. But there was no gleam of 
sympathy in them in return for hers. “ Thank you,” 
he said, quietly, “ you are very kind, but no one can 
help me. My burden is one that I must bear alone,” 


A SCARLET SIN. 


229 


And with that he almost wrenched his fingers from 
her grasp, and went swiftly down the corridor to his 
own room. 

“It is too soon,” said Cora to herself; “all the 
ghastly paraphernalia of death is round him still, 
and the man’s mind is unhinged. I daresay he is 
even morbid enough to regard our little flirtation as 
a crime for which Heaven has revenged itself by 
taking away his poor, useless wife. But he will get 
over that idea very soon, and be able to rejoice in 
his liberty. Meanwhile, I must keep quiet, and make 
no more attempts to sympathize with him. He is 
not ready for it. I think it will be actually more 
politic for me to take the initiative, and leave Glebe 
Royal as soon as ever the funeral is over. Yes, that 
is it. I will write him a melancholy letter to say 
that I am no use to anyone now she is gone, and 
that I had better leave on Thursday/ 

Accordingly, when the long, sad procession that 
had accompanied Lady Chichester to the grave had 
turned out of the gates of Glebe Royal, and she had 
watched the forlorn widower, half dazed with grief, 
get into his carriage, accompanied by his friends, and 
drive after it, Cora Murray sat down to her desk 
and indited him the following epistle : 

“My Dear Sir Alan, — Now that my beloved friend 
and patron has left us, I feel that I have no further claim 
upon the goodness you have uniformly extended to me, 
and that the sooner I leave you the better. My work is 
over. If I succeeded (in ever so small a degree) in pleasing 
her and you by the way in which I performed it, I am 
more than satisfied. But unfortunately, it behooves me 
to get another situation as soon as I can. May I leave 


230 


A SCARLET SIN. 


Glebe Royal on Thursday? You know I can have no pos- 
sible wish to hurry my departure, but I am an orphan — my 
only guardian on the other side of the Atlantic — and I 
must seek a home (alas ! what home can I ever find that 
will compare with this) without delay. And may I hope 
that when you think of the dear angel who has left us, you 
may sometimes also remember (and not unkindly) the 
poor companion who tried to make her last days happy 
and easy to her. May God bless you and your dear baby, 
and may he live to console you for your loss. 

Believe me, dear Sir Alan, 


“ Yours truly, 

“ Cora Murray.-” 

When Miss Murray read over this letter, she 
thought it sounded very well, and could not be 
improved. So she folded and addressed it, and sent 
it down to Sir Alan’s study to await his return. 
She quite believed that he would answer it by a 
request that she would postpone her departure till 
he had time to speak to her concerning her prospects, 
and she would not have been in the least surprised if 
she had received a summons to his study to dis- 
cuss them then and there. But the mourners 
returned from the funeral, and the evening wore on, 
and no news reached her from the baronet. Cora 
had no confidants at this period, nor even associates. 
Miss Chichester and Jane Wood, who had always 
agreed in regarding her as an unholy thing, had 
hardly spoken to her since the day of Lady Chi- 
chester’s death. The old servant seemed to have 
disappeared altogether since the advent of the nurses, 
and Miss Chichester continually hovered about her 
brother. Mrs. Markham was still in bed, and a very 


A SCARLET SIN. 


231 


fractious patient into the bargain, and the under- 
housemaid, who was appointed to look after Miss 
Murray’s rooms and meals in the existing disorgan- 
ization of the household, was a new servant, who 
seemed to know nothing of what was going on down- 
stairs. Cora heard a good deal of commotion and 
noise in the household on the evening of the funeral, 
but to all her inquiries on the subject the girl could 
only tell her that some of Sir Alan’s friends were 
going to stay at Glebe Royal for the night, and the 
confusion was caused by their luggage going up- 
stairs. Such a very natural solution that Cora did not 
trouble herself to ask any more questions about it. 
She sat up so late that evening in anticipation of the 
baronet’s reply to her letter that she was very weary 
when she went to bed, and slept soundly on the 
following morning. Lucy, the under-housemaid, 
brought her breakfast on a tray to her bedside, with 
a mouth open with astonishment. 

“ Lor, Miss, and you’ve slept through it all. Well, 
I never! I thought they made enough noise to 
wake the dead. Do you know that it’s past eleven 
o’clock ? ” 

“ Who made a noise ? What are you talking 
about ? ” said Cora, sitting up and yawning. 

“Why, Miss Chichester and Sir Alan, Miss. 
They’ve gone off with the baby and nurses and old 
Mrs. Wood to the station. They was packing the 
boxes and getting ready all yesterday evening, 
though / never knew it till off they goes at nine 
o’clock.” 

“ But where have they gone ? ” exclaimed Cora, 
now thoroughly roused and awake. 


232 


A SCARLET SIN, . 


“I can’t tell you, Miss, but I heard Mr. Stevens, 
the butler, say it was to some foreign place, and 
they’re not coming back again neither, and the worst 
of it is, all the under-servants are to be dismissed 
with a month’s wages.” 

Miss Murray sprang out of bed. 

“Impossible ! ” she cried, “you must be mistaken. 
A place like Glebe Royal cannot be kept without a 
proper staff of servants. And who is going to pay 
all your wages, pray ? ” 

“ O, there’s a gentleman staying here still, one of 
the master’s friends, and we’re all ordered to go to 
him in the study this afternoon to sign for our wages, 
Miss.” 

“It is incredible,” said Cora. “ I never heard of 
such a thing. Go down and ask Mr. Stevens if Sir 
Alan left any letter for me. He never would have 
quitted Glebe Royal without an explanation of some 
sort.” 

Lucy trotted downstairs with the message, and 
was back in two minutes with the answer. 

“ Mr. Stevens says, please Miss, will you speak to 
the gentleman in the study about it, and he will give 
you all the information you want on the subject.” 

Cora dressed herself with unwonted activity after 
this. She would not stay to take her breakfast, but, 
having finished her toilet, ran down to the study and 
knocked excitedly at the door. Her heart was burn- 
ing to know the reason that no intelligence had 
reached her of this sudden exodus from Glebe Royal. 
As soon as she received permission to enter, she 
burst into the study, but she was quite unprepared 


A SCARLET SIN , ; 


2 33 


for the sight that met her there. Dressed in deep 
mourning, and seated at a writing-table, surrounded 
by loose papers and account books, was her old 
friend and admirer, Henry Fauntleroy. 

For the first moment, Cora Murray was so taken 
aback that she entirely forgot the errand on which she 
had come. 

“You here ! ” she exclaimed. “Why, I didn’t know 
you were in England. When did you return from 
Gibraltar ? ” 

“ I landed last week,” he answered quietly, and in 
her amazement she did not observe that he did not 
offer her his hand, “but I did not reach Glebe Royal 
till yesterday. Will you not be seated, Miss Murray ? 
Sir Alan Chichester has delegated to me the duty of 
settling all claims upon him.” 

This remark recalled to her the reason for which 
she was there. 

“ But where has Sir Alan gone ? ” she inquired, 
“and why was I not informed of his intention to 
leave Glebe Royal ? I consider that his departure 
without any warning is most insulting to me ; more 
than that, it is cruel.” 

“ I don’t think Sir Alan meant to be either insult- 
ing or cruel, Miss Murray,” replied Captain Fauntle- 
roy in measured tones. “He has suffered a terrible 
loss, the greatest bereavement that can befall a man, 
and his nerves are totally unstrung by the shock. 
The doctors recommended an immediate change, and 
so he determined to shut up Glebe Royal for some 
time and live abroad. Under the circumstances, it 
is very natural. But he has deputed me to deal most 


234 


A SCARLET SIN. 


liberally with all claims upon him. He wishes you 
to receive, not only your full salary, but a cheque for 
a hundred pounds, which he desires you will accept 
as a present from him.” 

“ I refuse to take it,” she exclaimed passionately. 
“ Sir Alan owes me a great deal more than he c m 
'ever pay by money, and I will have justice from him 
if nothing else.” 

“ He also left this letter for you in my charge. 
Perhaps it will explain what you desire to know,” 
said Fauntleroy, handing her a sealed envelope. 

Cora tore it open in a fury, read the few lines it con- 
tained, and then, throwing it on the ground, stamped 
upon it vehemently. 

“And it is for a man like this that I have cursed 
myself! ” she exclaimed, with clenched hands and 
teeth. “O, I hate him! I hate him !” 

“ How have you cursed yourself?” demanded 
Captain Fauntleroy quickly. The ques'ion made 
her aware of the danger she had run. 

“Did I say so?” she asked, with a sickly smile. 
“O, I was raving. The ingratitude of one’s friends 
is so hard to bear, it makes one’s senses reel. You 
say Sir Alan left a cheque for me. Where is it ? ” 

“ I thought you declined to accept the favor, Miss 
Murray.” 

“O Fauntleroy, don’t be so hard on me,” she 
exclaimed, going on another tack, and bursting into 
tears. “ What on earth am I to do ? Think of 
my position. An unfortunate girl, without home, 
or money or friends, forced to become a de- 
pendant in order to earn my own living, how can I 


A SCAT LET SLN. 


23 $ 


afford to refuse the help extended to me ? And it 
has been hardly earned too. I have toiled day and 
night in the service of these Chichesters. I was 
her ladyship’s best friend. She has often said so. 
She ” 

“ Stop!' cried Henry Fauntleroy in a voice of au- 
thority. “ Stop, and do not presume to take her 
name upon your lips.” 

“ What do you mean ?” said Cora, with a face that 
had suddenly grown the color of ashes. 

“ I mean this, that you should never have come to 
Glebe Royal, that you were not fit to fasten Alice’s 
shoestring, and you know that I am right. I was 
afraid of it when I first heard that you were here, 
but your refutations, and my own weakness, made 
me credit for a while that you spoke the truth. 
When I was able to argue the matter more calmly 
with myself, I resolved to be convinced of it, once 
and for ever, and I advertised for Paul Rodney.” 

“Coward ! ” she exclaimed, loudly, “and you said 
you loved me ! ” 

“ God forgive me for it,” he answered ; “ I said 
what I believed, Lotta, but I know now that love is 
too pure a term to apply to any feeling that a man 
may have for you. That advertisement brought me 
into communication again with Rodney, and he sent 
me a packet of your letters to Masham. Now , do 
you understand what I mean ?” 

“ Give me my money and let me go,” she said with 
white lips. “There’s not a man amongst you all that 
is worth a second thought from me. I wish I had 
never seen your face, nor that of your friend, and 


A SCARLkT SlM 


236 

when I pass out of these doors you may take your 
oath I shall never enter them again.” 

“ I sincerely trust you never will,” replied Captain 
Fauntleroy gravely, “for your absence is the only 
price of my silence. Please to understand that. God 
forgive you, Lotta, if you have added to the load on 
your conscience by your residence at Glebe Royal, 
for He knows it was heavy enough before.” He 
handed her the money due to her and the liberal 
cheque which Sir Alan had left behind, as he spoke, 
and watched her sign a receipt with fingers that 
almost trembled too violently to trace the letters of 
her name. But having accomplished it, Cora Mur- 
ray threw the pen down, as though it had been a 
gauntlet to defy him to injure her further, and with 
a look that, if eyes could slay, would have killed him 
on the spot, she dashed out of the room. 

“ Poor Lotta,” thought Fauntleroy compassionate- 
ly, as he gazed after her, “she is a moral suicide. 
She has destroyed her own life as effectually as 
though she had drawn a knife across her throat. 
But she is too dangerous for all that. Under present 
circumstances I would never have trusted her to 
continue her acquaintance with Alan.” 

At that moment he observed the baronet’s letter 
lying on the floor, where Cora had stamped upon 
and left it. 

“I wonder what he can have said to put her in 
such a rage,” he thought, as he stooped mechanically 
and picked it up, and smoothed it out and read it : 

“ Cora, — I cannot answer your letter, nor can I see you. 
My conscience is too full of remorse, and the very words 
that have passed between us doubles the agony of my loss. 


A SCAkLET S/M. 


*Z1 

I beg of you to forget them, or to remember them only as 
the ravings of an unholy dream, for they will never be 
renewed. I wish you well in life, but I will not meet you 
again. My friend Captain Fauntleroy will tell you all the 
rest. 

“A. C.” 

Henry Fauntleroy turned the brief scrawl over 
and over in his hands, before he fully understood it. 

“ Is it possible ?” he said at last “ Poor Alan too, 
and just as this terrible calamity was hanging over 
his head. No wonder he feels crushed to the very 
earth under the remembrance of his infidelity. But 
dear Alice never knew of it, that is one comfort, 
and if she knows of it now, she is better able to make 
allowances for human weakness, and to gauge the 
depth of the repentance that succeeds it. Well, we 
have both been scorched, and we have both escaped 
the flame. Thank Heaven for it. Please God, I may 
live to see the day when Alan’s happiness shall be 
renewed, when the smiles of his child, and perhaps 
the love of some good woman, may bring the sun- 
shine into his life once more ; but whether his future 
be solitary or otherwise, I shall never cease to be 
grateful that he has had the moral strength to put 
away from him the serpent charms of Cora Murray.” 


THE END. 





































































• •. 












> 








• 





































































' 

- s 




































. .»• 














i ■ • 



























































* 












■ 

' 

• • 
















i 



































» i 

































*37. Roland Oliver. By Justin McCarthy 30 

38. Sheba. By Rita 30 

39. Sylvia Arden. By Oswald Crawfurd 30 

40. Young Mr. Ainslie’s Courtship. By F. C. Phillips 30 

41. The Haute Noblesse. 'By George Manville Fenn 30 

42. Mount Eden. By Florence Marryat 30 

43. Buttons. By John Strange Winter : 30 

44. Nurse Revel’s Mistake. By Florence Warden 30 

45. Arminell. By S. Baring-Gould 50 

46. The Lament of Dives. By Walter Besant ’. 30 

47. Mrs. Bob. By John Strange Winter 30 

48. Was Ever Woman in this Humor Wooed. By Chas. Gibbon 30 

49. The Mynns Mystery. By George Manville Fenn 30 

50. Hedri. By Helen Mathers 30 

51. The Bondman. By Hall Caine 30 

; 52. A Girl of the People. By L. T. Meade 30 

53. Twenty Novelettes, by Twenty Prominent Novelists 30 

54. A Family Without a Name, By Jules Verne / 30 

55. A Sydney Sovereign. By Tasma 30 

56. A March in the Ranks. By Jessie Fothergill 30 

57. Our Erring Brother. By F. W. Robinson. 30 

58. Misadventure, By W. E. Norris 30 

59. Plain Tales from the Hills. By Rudyard Kipling 50 

60. Dinna Forget. By John Strange Winter. 30 

61. Cosette. By Katharine Macquoid 30 

62. Master of His Fate. By J . Maclaren Cobban 30 

63. A Very Strange Family. By F. W. Robinson 30 

64. The Kilburns. By Annie Thomas 30 

65. The Firm of Girdlestone. By A. Conan Doyle 50 

66. In Her Earliest Youth. By Tasma 50 

67. The Lady Egeria. By J. B. Harwood 50 

68. A True Friend. By Adeline Sargent 50 

69. The Little Chatelaine. By The Earl of Desart 50 

70. Children of To-Morrow. By William Sharp 30 

71. The Haunted Fountain and Hetty’s Revenge. By Katharine S. 

Macquoid 30 

72. A Daughter’s Sacrifice. By F. C. Philipp and Percy Fendall 50 

73. Hauntings. By Vernon Lee 50 

74. A Smuggler’s Secret. By Frank Barrett 50 

75. Kestell of Greystone. By Esme Stuart 50 

76. The Talking Image of Urur. By Franz Hartmann, M.D 50 

77. A Scarlet Sin. By Florence Marryat 50 

78. By Order of the Czar. By Joseph Hatton 50 

79. The Sin of Joost Avelingh. By Maarten Maartens 50 

80. A Born Coquette. By The Duchess 50 

81. The Burnt Million. By James Payn „ 50 

82. A Woman’s Heart. By Mrs. Alexander 50 

83. Syrlin. By Ouida 50 

84. The Rival Princes. By Justin McCarthy and Mrs. C. Praed 50 

85. Blindfold. By Florence Marryatt 50 

86. The Parting of the Ways. By Betham Edwards 50 

87. The Failure of Elizabeth. By E. Frances Poynter 50 

88. Eli’s Children. By George Manville Fenn 50 

89. The Bishop’s Bible. By David Christie Murray and Henry Hermann.. 50 

90. April’s Lady. By The Duchess 50 

91. Violet Vyvian, M. F. H. By May Crommelin 50 

92. A Woman of the World. By F. Mabel Robinson 50 

93. The Baffled Conspirators. By W. E. Norris 50 

in press: 

94. Strange Crimes. By William Westall 50 

95. Dishonoured. By Theo. Gift 50 

96. The Mystery of M. Felix. By B. L. Farjeon 50 

97. With Essex in Ireland. By Hon. Emily Lawless 50 

98. Soldiers Three, and Other Stories. By Rudyard Kipling 50 

99. Whose was the Hand. By M. E. Braddon 50 

100. The Blind Musician. By Stepniak and William Westall 50 

101. The House on the Scar. By Bertha Thomas 50 

102. The Wages of Sin. By Lucas Malet 50 

103. The Phantom Rickshaw. By Rudyard Kipling 50 

104. The Love of a Lady. By Annie Thomas 50 

105. How Came He Dead? By J. Fitzgerald Molloy 50 


Any of the above sent postpaid, on receipt of price, by the publishers, 

JOHN W„ LOVELL COMPANY, 

150 WORTH STREET. NEW YORK. 





COLGATES PERFUMES 


w 


T HIS PICTURE, reproduced from a pliotograpli, shows in the fore-.j 
ground peasant women gathering Jasmine Flowers, and those in the: 
background, on ladders, picking Orange Flowers. The odors of these two 
flowers are exceedingly rich and fragrant. They- are used by the skillful] 
perfumer most successfully in combination with other odors, and when so 
used impart a refinement and delicacy to the bouquet which would be 
impossible to attain without them. 

It is the liberal use of these odors, and the skillful manner in which 
they are combined, that has helped to secure for Colgate & Co. the fore-^ 
most place among perfumers, and has created a demand frd&lffr 'parts of] 
the world for their soaps and perfumes, the favorite of which is 

CASHMERE BOUQUET 















■ 































































































V* » 


• O' . « v 1 " * 

v ~ ' / • : -, ” 'P, 

X°<^ 

., ^* a ,o 5 ^ ^ * 

' - .4^ 




,V> 
y *& * 




* V 














t 0 N C ^ 

. ^ ^ - * 


y °* 


^ _ v> 

, <*> X c o * 6 * 

a* t »,,o 5 ,0-’ O „ ' .* x 

y> x * * * > * •> - V * 0 . 


J ^ ^ 

£.vA 5 ^ ,A 










r * ^ 


% % 

X 


V>: / A l ^ , ,, 



A' < ^ 

.On 


. ^ ■%. ',W^V #°~ ", 

‘••’‘VV-nV* ••'■'’*/ ,..%•*■ 

./' s*t*k'S 





o 




j.j, ^ ^ >>, w a$ ur *, ,\v </> - ^4 ;r-? «* - <? 

R*T v * o> * u * 1 <rV ^ > *>^. * -V^W" * ,V 

* S s <* f 0 ,• x * A <3 *^**1 X ^ 

0 k <« vl/, « <f> X 1 0 N S 4 * s „ v i 

■ v * V ,-& x * ■ ■ X' , ” • i '## 

o x .*a^»- ■*• > ° ^f ia -. , bo' ,'jfife 

t* V i- ■ LJ -V ^ r\ ^ ‘ \’\ [L. r t . < 




* ; 


* ‘-^f 

- , *>. 



0 N c 




\ 0 °*< 

r \y if> " ^ cl «Pv Li'/, 

AV t/> "* : 1 * Civ ^ o >J/ 

* Kj * V V ~W : -> V/ <?■ 

° * h " ^ . . 0 N C (V %/' 1 «*'''' ^ „V I * , C, y " * X ' 







f VJ \ 







x 0 ^, 


f F y- ^UV ^ > 

V ^ O o 

<*F. * .0 N 0 ? 


V v v % 




V > 0 


•>* 




k % 

.**% 'Vw; & v 

* v/ <r’ ^ 1 > 1 , * •*> 

-r , — or— \ ,<*y 

^ *t. . 

s w 

-<V -* * -y ^ 


y o * x * 

% ^ # 





> A 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

























